Look Up Look Out Look In
Under the light
Of the Moon of the Longest Night
We look for hope
Wrapped in tissue and ribbons bright

Instead take note
Of the winter cardinal's red coat
While from the pine
It warbles nature's own trope

Jeff Stangl, Winona, MN

May this holiday season's electricity

Blitz us into surges of extra volts,

Fritz us with smiles and deep belly jolts,

Glitz us in music and friendly toasts,

Spritz our bowknots with fingers' ripostes,

Whiz into understanding we cynical hosts,

To zing the world in peace and serendipity.

Robin PanLener, St. Paul, MN

Peace to you. There is plenty to share and there are many good people in our world.

Joy to you. Listen to great music. Take time to imagine.

Hope to you. Our world is a wonder, filled with promise.

John J. Pellegrini

I put a little toast-type greeting at the end of my Christmas letters each year, and I write a letter for myself and for my mother.

Mine:

May 1999 find you Healthy
May life's blessings make you wealthy
May life appear as bouquets of flowers
May you count only happy hours.

My mothers (as she has been ill this year, her letter was from her cats)

It's time to relax a little
So we need to "paws"
We wish you a purr-fectly wonderful holiday.
Please scratch behind the ears
Stretch out in a sunbeam
Enjoy your selves and
Settle in for a long winter's nap.

Happy holidays to everyone at MPR! I listen to you all day at work and
people frequently stop in my office and comment on the wonderful music.

Linda Pimlott-Rich

May meetings be few and focused
May they upgrade vending machines

May the lunch counter start serving mochas
May bathroom stalls always be clean

May you only get relevant email
May compliments flow your way

May casual wear be discovered on sale
May you finish your task list each day

Janis Van Brunt, Verona, WI

Thanksgiving Blessing

Life's Banquet Table has a place for me;
Arrayed with every good thing, and
Surpassing a lifetime's goodness, surely.

Nature's Creator-Keeper calls
The Blessing: Welcome, Welcome,
Welcome to my Table.

And gladly I see that
Then, now and onward as I'm able,
I share a Table joined by all who're lovely.

Gary Westlund, Minneapolis, MN

Gratitude

For good, gifts and graces
We gladly return our thankfulness.

With gratitude we greet each day;
Grant us, then, grace in all we say.

Jeanne DeMartino, Roseville, MN

Cherished things come from the heart
The feeling of love we feel at the start
When candles alight and the Christmas tree glows
The spirit of Christmas in our heart grows
The toys will all break and the sweaters will tear
Our only lasting treasures are the moments we share

Benjamin Franco, Walcott, ND

I wrote this for my husband, whom I married last year.

Like a child, Christmas' spirit is much brighter now,
and the aroma is much sweeter.
Since I've found the beauty of it's meaning,
in our time spent together.
My Love to You Forever.

Linda Cox