Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: The Reason for the Season of Christmas (12/04/08)
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TITLE: Celebrate! | Previous Challenge Entry
By Deborah Engle
12/09/08 -
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ADD TO MY FAVORITES
Wrap gifts, send cards, prepare a feast;
Special programs, parties, too,
Demands galore that just won’t cease.
Hindered by the boisterous crowds,
Assailed by ever mounting costs,
Pressured by the hectic pace,
Baffled by the list that’s lost.
A once a year season of festivities,
Observing the birth of our most precious King,
Too often transformed into weeks of distress,
A marathon race to accomplish each thing.
Frustration and weariness clamor within,
“Enough! Don’t get caught up like this anymore!”
But down in the depths of a heart that’s been changed,
Traditions of Christmas are worth every chore.
Christmas concerts, carols, too,
Proclaim the wondrous news abroad
As angels, gladsome tidings told
Mere shepherds, filling them with awe.
Presents wrapped so perfectly
Remind of sovereign, holy God,
Swaddled closely in the hay,
Prepared, e’en then, harsh roads to trod.
Nativity sets placed center stage
To capture every heart and mind,
How humble birth of low disdain
Brought cherished hope for all mankind.
Now evergreens come in the house,
Fragrant and green throughout the year.
They bring to mind eternal life,
Most gracious gift to hold so dear.
Atop the tree a hallmark sure,
The star above, so bold and bright,
To show the way our lives should go,
A picture of our Guiding Light.
A feast upon the table laid,
Family and good friends around,
Portends a marriage supper where
The glory of the Lamb abounds.
Familiar customs have their place
As instruments for reaching hearts,
Symbolizing Bible truths,
Compelling some to brand new starts.
So celebrate, rejoice anew,
The love of God, so sweetly told.
Embrace the strain, that all may know
The timeless truth worth more than gold.
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If I read your hint properly, you asked for red ink so these are my observations: I stumbled on the 3rd (or maybe 4th) stanza, where your meter shifted into significantly longer lines. There were also one or two words that seemed to have been forced in because they rhymed even though they weren't quite the right word. ('Trod' being the one that springs to mind.)
Overall I felt it was a good poem. I look forward to reading some more!
I found the meter a little bit inconsistent in places.
Your last two lines are absolutely perfect.