from the teaching files
of children's author and educator
Barbara Jean Hicks
In case you missed it last year--
I love this poem about the aftermath of the holidays. Maybe we make resolutions at New Year’s in response to our Christmas regrets? (Oh, the breathless hope of new beginnings!)
WELL, SO THAT IS THAT
Well, so that is that.
Now we must dismantle the tree,
Putting the decorations back
into their cardboard boxes—
Some have got broken—
and carrying them up to the attic.
The holly and mistletoe must be taken down and burnt,
And the children got ready for school.
There are enough
Left-overs to do, warmed up, for the rest of the week—
Not that we have much appetite,
having drunk such a lot,
Stayed up so late, attempted—quite unsuccessfully—
To love all our relatives, and in general
Grossly overestimated our powers. Once again
As in previous years we have seen the actual Vision and failed
To do more than to entertain it as an agreeable
Possibility, once again we have sent Him away
Begging though to remain His disobedient servant,
The promising child who cannot keep His word for long.
W.H. Auden (1907-1973)
HAPPY NEW YEAR! May 2013 bring you more pleasures than regrets.
Thank you for posting this great blog. The subject is intriguing to me.I hope you post more about it soon. It gave me good deeper insight.
Posted by: køb tripod | January 12, 2012 at 06:07 AM
Yes, Virginia, there IS hope for a brighter tomorrow. At least I sure the heck hope so! :-) Auden's poem is so perfect for the after-the-holidays let-down--which I have not experienced yet! Fingers crossed...
Posted by: Barbara Hicks | January 01, 2012 at 12:19 PM
Thank you Barbara, for summing up the exact feelings of what many of us our experiencing after the long hussle and bussel of the Holidays, kids bored and crying for adventure and parents are broke with lost hope of having any peace of mind for the next week till school begins...HAllelujah!Never thought I would say that about my grandchildren...:)Yet to come is the New Year which we are all hoping for a brighter tomorrow.
Posted by: Virginia Crowe | December 31, 2011 at 01:50 PM