And Grace Will Lead

Some days the world seems bleak,
a colorless landscape, all uphill,
whose horizon stretches so far
we cannot speak, and home
seems impossibly out of reach.

Yet, hope ensures--
that small bird
that finds the will to try again,
endures, when strength is gone
and sleep almost seems the fairer answer.

Drawn steadily toward infinity,
the harvest ripe, the reaper ready,
face upturned to the beckoning dawn,
and grace will lead us home.

© 2017 Cheri Neuman Herald

Merry Christmas! Wishing you the hope ensured by grace.

The 24th is my 16th Xangaversary. We fledgling Xangans came here from Geocities or Angelfire by invitation of a fictional PR person, "Bianca Broussard", who said she liked our writing. Instead of a thumbs-up, we awarded e-props to each other for liking a post. We read each others poetry, short stories, and rants. There were artists and photographers here, too-- good ones. Much of the writing was excellent, as was the camaraderie. We old-timers refer to ourselves as "relics", and I guess we are. Some of us keep in touch. Our Xanga is dying, but until it is extinguished, I'll keep the light on. Merry Christmas, old friends.

Mary Was Willing
I am the Lord's servant, May your word to me be fulfilled.-- Luke 1:38

From Judah's kingly tribe,
perhaps from Levi's, too,
came a humble woman willing
to do what God would have her do.

An angel brought the news
that Mary was the one
to bear the savior of the world,
God's only begotten son.

Her reply made no demand
of proof his words were true;
Mary was willing,
how about you?

2016 Cheri Neuman Herald
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Merry Christmas, Xangans!

nfp, I enjoyed your post on the history of Xanga with the link to Biz Stone's (Genius) interview. I'd have commented, but the comments are closed. Just as well, there were a whole bunch of Asian spam comments.Happy New Year to you wherever you are!

The 24th marked 15 years for me here at Xanga. I think we were some of the first bloggers. It was mainly a community of writers, poets and artists. We shared our work with each other and like pen-pals became long-distance friends. Most of us have gone on to other social media sites, but they're not the same. Some of us still keep in touch. I'm glad of that. I continue to post my poetry here; I publish little of it elsewhere. The world seems in too big a hurry for long posts, and memes and funny cat videos have replaced much of real writing. I miss what we had here. It was very good.

Let's not debate cups,
the color thereof--
this is the season
of brotherly love.
Let donkeys and doves,
ellies and hawks,
Christians and Jews,
Muslims and monks
come together in reason;
politics cease,
and pray to their maker,
"Unite us in peace!"

2015 Cheri Neuman Herald

* Coffee chain Starbucks' "red cup" is causing some controversy. This year's holiday cup has some users praising the minimalist design; others think the cups are a "war on Christmas".

The 24th marked my 14th year here on Xanga. While I mostly keep up with family and friends on Facebook, this is still where I go to publish my poetry. Several of you "relics" are here as long, or almost as long as I. I'm glad that we can still connect here.

May you know love,
the soul-warming kind,
and bright, sparkling thoughts
illumine your mind.

The troubles that come,
as they always do,
may they leave quickly
and their number be few.

May peace fill your home
throughout the whole year;
I wish you a heart full
of all you hold dear!

Merry Christmas with love!
2014 Cheri Neuman Herald