"Go out after midnight
with the sky trembling in snowy light–
each star holding its filament of desire.
Merge your mind with the spiraling galaxies —
with a movement so large
only Your heart can encompass it.
Drop your prayer into the ear of God.
Write a poem to help her hear it.
Notice the moon grow more distant and diffuse —
Reappear as your Beloved
looking through eyes vast as Winter Sky." Elizabeth Reninger

I am not sure why the idea came to me. Perhaps it is that early December, Advent, is meant to be a minimalist time. It is dark……day and night. This morning I had to convince my seventeen year old that we weren’t really getting him up to go to school in the middle of the night. As I write this, snow is falling outside my window, the trees stand leafless, vulnerable yet somehow strong against the blustery wind.. And so under these conditions, the idea came to me that I should write a poem each day of Advent. As one of my favorite friends would say…."Well, that’s goofy!".

And maybe it is. Who knows? But poetry seems to be the way to go in these darkest days of winter. Few, but important words, slim of syllables and big on meaning. Looking at a printed page, the black ink would look like ciphers on snow. Appropriate.

It is not usually a practice of Advent to give up anything or to take anything on for that matter. Heaven knows there is enough to do in these few short weeks before Christmas. But, what could it hurt? At the very least I will have 23 mostly mediocre poems on Christmas Eve. But the process itself could really teach me something, I think. And here it is….perhaps the practice of doing something with "less" will allow me to clear out the clutter of "too much" so I can see, hear, feel, know, the gifts of this season.Perhaps in paring back all the advertising, the hype, the glitzy language, I’ll find the kernel.

It’s worth a try.I’ll let you know how the experiment goes.