In
this
lonely
living room
clocks don’t tick.
Time
pretends
to stand still,
while I pretend
that there is no tock.
Festive
decorations
hang, my lights,
my many glittery bells,
giving the bright impression
that my life, and my family are well.
Tomorrow,
I will find a way
to chase away lost days:
catch up with the relentlessly
shifting, silent clock of turning time.
I will wrap the treats my family really need,
though few of them are found in humble retail shops.
Here’s a list of all the gifts I want to give: health, happiness,
and
love, love,
love, love,
love, love,
endlessly.
©Jane Paterson Basil
Making it write 
You’re so talented Jane. Not only a touching poem, but also a Christmas tree! It’s just another day, this Christmas malarkey. I hope it doesn’t add additional gloom to how you’re feeling already. x
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I’ve been too unwell to buy ANY Christmas presents (or get dressed, most days) so I feel bad about that, even though my family don’t care. My eldest daughter is in charge of Christmas this year, and I’ll pull myself together for the sake of the family. It’s easy to pretend when I’m around them, and it may help.
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Well my brother buys great presents and he’s an arse who we never see. It’s nice you have a family who don’t care less about the presents, and it’s more about your presence. x
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Haha; here’s a good story: For 20 years I was caught in an emotionally abusive relarionship with someone who cleverly used gift-giving as a form of abuse. He was extravagant, while making sure I was penniless. He did all the shopping, including buying my horrible. One Christmas when he knew I only had one pair of shoes, and they had holes in the soles, he bought me a long, flowing, pure silk nightdress, and had the manufacturer custom-design and make an ankle-length gown to go over it. I kid you not. Soon after that, our house was repossessed…
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Oh my, he sounds horrific. I’d have wanted to wrap the beautiful silk nightdress around his neck!
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I should have thought of that! 🙂
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Wow – that’s creative arse-holing! Loved the poem and your tree. It just shimmers with love. It is my wish for you and your family too xxxxx
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Sounds like the perfect gift! Merry Christmas, Jane!
>
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I wrote poems to individual family members, telling them why I loved them. It went down really well.
I hope you had a lovely day, and enjoy the rest of your holiday.
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I did that for grandkids, but had three more to go so will give at birthdays
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Ha! I thought I was being so original… 🙂
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Well i started a few weeks ago, but i need the inspiration for so many, to individualize and not be repetitive
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I did eight of them, although I’d like to have written more. I managed not to repeat myself, but they are all very different characters…
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That was my problem. I have nine g.c. And they are individuals, but that’s a lot of rhyming! Glad you had success! Health better?
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😍…..Happy Christmas Jane…….xox
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Thank you Mary. I hope you had a wonderful day, and enjoy the rest of the holiday, Mary xxx
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May all the love you give be returned to you in kind on Christmas Day and every day.
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Thank you Bernadette. It was – a hundredfold. My older daughters and their children are wonderful.
I hope you had a lovely day.
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Wonderful poem and I am so amazed that the words fit so perfectly into the shape of a Christmas tree. I have tried similar things before and either the shape was off or the wording felt false with the shape. You did a wonderful job.
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Thank you! I like to do something special at Christmas.
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An excellent poem Jane.
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Thank you Alan.
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Very classy, kiddo!! How are you doing with the med?
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I managed to stay awake all day. Well it’s hard to go to sleep when severa; small boys are jumping all over you and streaming in your ear. I had a lovely time. How was your Chistmas day, Calen?
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Like any other day. 🙂
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That doesn’t sound good… so things are still uncomfortable at home.
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No. It’s ok. I’m just bored out of my mind with my life… Not much I can do about that! (rolls eyes…)
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Take up skydiving? Hitch-hike around Europe with me and my niece? That’s what she reckons we’re going to do together this year, but I don’t think Sarah would be too happy about it, because when I told her that my nephew has moved on to a refugee camp in Serbia, and I may join him there, she wasn’t AT ALL enthusiastic.
Remember you don’t like sinter, and you’ll probably feel better in April. Have you ever considered buying a SAD lamp? One of my nieces has one, and It really helped her cat, whose mood improved overnight. She’d bought it for herself, but she has Borderline Personality Disorder, and a lamp is not enough to cure that.
It can help just to change the way the house smells. A lot of people use unhealthy synthetic room fresheners. I make my own out of essential oils. I put about half to one cup of water in a spray bottle and add 24-30 drops of essential oils (I usually use three oils, 8-10 drops of each), then shake, and spray, to land on soft furninshings and the carpet. Folks always remark on how lovely my flat smells. My favorite oils for room freshening: sweet orange, grapefruit, thyme, cedarwood, ylang ylang, and patchouli (not everyone likes it, and, being strong, it should be used much more sparingly than other oils). There are plenty of others and they all have different purposes.
I also love rose and neroli, but they’re very expensive, so I would only use them for perfume. Sadly, I have a hunch that rose may be the fragrance for you. It’s one I have a need for, as it combats my issues with femininity. Years ago, I got several tiny bottle of it, cheap, in India, and kept it in the dark, so it stayed fresh, but I’ve run out of it now.
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I’m good. I think just a bit more ME time would make a difference. 🙂
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Absolutely love this. Such a beautiful heart.
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Thank you. For years I’ve been wanting to change the way I approach Christmas, but I didn’t know how. This time I finally got it figured.
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Such Superb gifts!
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Thank you!
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Ah… I love how this ends. Love is always the perfect gift! A great piece, and it looks good too! 🙂
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Thank you Kathleen. Shapes are fun to do.
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