ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

SPARE A THOUGHT

When you wake up Christmas morning
with your loved ones by your side,
sharing gifts and joy and laughter,
spare a thought for those who cried.
Cried because they had no shelter,
no safe place to call a home,
just a dark and dingy alley,
where the homeless often roam.

Cried for loved ones lost in battle,
on some distant foreign shore,
now their loved ones gather 'round them,
to help ease the pain of war.
Spare a thought for waiting families,
who's loved ones have walked away,
for whatever be their reason,
pray that they'll call home today.

Spare a thought for those in famine,
pleading, begging by the road,
as they hold their dying children,
God have mercy, spare their load.
Spare a thought for all the sadness,
felt by people everywhere.
Just remember that its Christmas,
spare a thought and show you care.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

Captured the true meaning there Sue - the little reality check that all to often is missing and makes Christmas the commercialized cash cow it has become.

I love this poem it is beautiful

Cheers

Maureen

Thank you Maureen. Sometimes in the celebration of Xmas we forget about those less fortunate then ourselves. I have always loved Christmas, not for all the outrageous spending, but I have the fondest memories of family get togethers, something that we still try to maintain today, family cricket games, singing carols and all those little traditional things Mum and Dad passed onto us. May it always be that way. But as time go by, there seems to be one less face each Xmas. We should never take life for granted.

Cheers
Sue

I guess you are right Sue, we should always be mindful of what some people have to bear. The man that Christmas is named after, Christ that is, emphasised that we should be concerned about the person that is close enough and within our power to help, our neighbour.

Since this is a workshop and we are invited to make constructive comments. I hope you won't mind.

Line 1. Christmas is usually capitalised.

line 2. The possessive its does not require an apostrophe. You have this several times.Although I suspect that the sticklers will eventually lose that battle .

In line 5 of stanza 2. The sticklers and ABPA competition judges will say the metre is out because families is three syllables. I am with you that families is pronounced fam'lies
in normal speech, two accents. I believe that accents and syllables are not necessarily the same thing. Take your pick Sue. I'm on your side.

Great poem Sue, and nice sentiments. I guess one way we can show we care is to invite someone with no family, or none close by, to share our Christmas lunch...
Cheers
Robyn

Thanks for your comments Marty, Nev and Robyn. There have been many occassions in the past Robyn where we have shared our dinner table with others. Not just at Xmas, but when my husband was on callout for the NRMA he would often bring home someone who needed a meal [often a bed]. We have met some very interesting people over the years. Many times when he was called out to a breakdown where people [and families] had been waiting for assistance for some time, he would take light refreshments. We never came across anyone who wasn't grateful.
Thanks for pointing out those glitches Nev, I have fixed the main ones, but for the purpose of this exercise, I will leave 'families' alone.

Cheers
Sue