Counting the Cards OR Who's Missing...?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

I don’t send Christmas cards because I am neither a religious nor ‘Christmassy’ person. I send poems to many people, but most prefer to have a card they can put on the mantel so visitors can count and see how popular they are. It came as no surprise to me, therefore, that when I stopped sending cards. most people stopped sending one to me. After all, you can’t put a poem on the mantel…

Some people tell me I should send Christmas cards anyway (why bother with a poem?) if only to let those who matter to me know I am thinking of them or keep in touch with those I have not seen or had much contact with for a long time. 

Not seen or had much contact with for a long time? Why not seen or had much contact with for a long time…if they matter to us?

Too often I hear people say they have not contacted someone because he or she has not been in touch with them. Well, if they really matter to us, should we not try and find out why…?  A visit, telephone call, letter, email, skype…most of us have the means to get in touch by at least one or other of these means. If we don’t, something is seriously wrong that people to whom we supposedly matter and vice versa need to know about and think through. 

I recently met up with a friend who had just been choosing Christmas cards with great care so each person for whom a card was meant would know a lot of thought had gone onto choosing it. "You have to show you care, don't you?" said my friend adding, "I mean that's what Christmas is all about, isn't it, caring?"  We had been reminiscing about one particular mutual friend  I rarely see  for various reasons but we often chat on the phone and with whom I knew full well did not hear from my caring companion from one Christmas card to the next...

Staying in touch with friends is so important; the occasional phone call or email just to let them know you are thinking of them can make all the difference, especially if that person is ill or having a bad day and close to free fall. Why wait for them to make the first move? Love - in all its various shapes and forms - works both ways, and keeping in touch should not be on the occasional whim or just for Christmas and birthdays...or one day it may be too late.

COUNTING THE CARDS or WHO’S MISSING…?

Festive bells spreading

good news across a sorry Earth,

wringing comfort and joy

from all those needing to believe

in a godly saviour’s birth;

Oh, but let's  reason not the need,

they would have us all
be sure, but keep ourselves snug

by a feisty fire if only to feed heat
and light to despair

Winter solstice passed,

and now it’s the Christian’s turn

to answer questions

on flaws in natural laws exposed

by the origins of religion;

little or no harm done on days
when Apollo joins the fight

to save the heart’s weary cockles

from faltering, till cash for its meter

runs out at dead of night

Early hours, shivering

and demanding answers of a God

inclined to turn a deaf ear

on material demands like how best

to keep out the cold;

where certain spiritual sustenance

always on hand, available
in prayer, even arthritic souls 

obliged to get out of bed, trust they

won’t catch pneumonia

Spending on a charity card

to loved one, friend and neighbour;

best wish them well

on the mantel (for everyone to see)

than save for the meter

in case we should meet in the street,

since they will be sure
find a way to say how mean spirited 

folks can be in spreading festive cheer,
and point the finger

Where Xmas (or any) cards

a roll call for those who play a part

in our lives, big or small,

it should be those plainly missing

that strike mind-body-spirit 

hardest of all, and to whom the ghosts
of human love turn to investigate

reasons behind any absences 

before it's too late to even make a start
on affairs of the heart

Cause for concern about a special someone?

Go on, pick up the damn phone...

Copyright R. N. Taber 2011; 2014