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Christmas, holiday, nature, peace, poems, poetry, prayer, reflection, snow, tragedy, winter, Wordsworth
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Any reflection I could write about yesterday’s tragedy would be trite, so I won’t try. I’ll simply say that today I’m appreciating William Wordsworth’s poem about Tintern Abbey. It’s not a Christmas poem, but I was recently acquainted with it, and it seemed appropriate today to choose poems of peace and reflection. I hope I can remember these words this season, as a nudge to focus on my own present and its blessings:
That in this moment there is life and food
For future years.
As my wise baby brother commented yesterday, “I’m still convinced that the number of good people in this world far outweigh the number of bad.”
Of my grandpa’s poems, one winter-themed poem calls to mind the same themes of peace and reflection. In “Winter Cavern,” my favorite line describes the poet’s fascination with a winter storm:
A man could stand and marvel all the day,
And never see the beauty of it all.
Photo by Angela Mapes Turner
“And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.” Mark 10:16
Arthur Franklin Mapes 
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