Heidi’s December challenge for the Inklings came to us in the form of this mobile (which is hanging beside our mail table and yes that’s the Christmas tree reflecting in the lace swan’s glass). The card from which hang the “12 Days of Yuletide Poetry Prompts” details the precepts for the season and each of its days.
I wrote to all twelve of the prompts. Here are a couple that I especially liked. First, the introduction to Yuletide:
“On these dark nights we celebrate light and the power of the human spirit to brighten and warm the season of cold and dark. As the wheel of the year begins another turn, we think on the old and prepare for the new, lighting a candle for each of these human gifts:
25 generosity: the urge to share what we have with others (prompt: ask what generosity really means)
27 laughter: the singular human ability to convert the unexpected into joy (prompt: capture the sound of laughter)
Thank you, Heidi, for generously (and creatively!) sharing your family’s Yuletide traditions with us, and for twelve days of thoughtful writing prompts. I can’t wait to see what the other Inklings did with your challenge, because for once, we haven’t had the chance to share any early drafts. We haven’t an INKLING what the others have written!
Heidi @my juicy little universe
Molly @Nix the Comfort Zone
Catherine @Reading to the Core
Margaret @Reflections on the Teche
Linda @A Word Edgewise
Marcie has this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup at Marcie Flinchum Adkins.
A(nother) Year of Reading 
Lovely thoughts, Mary Lee. I especially like the one about laughter – there are so many sounds in a laugh, yet each is so individual. Have a wonderful 2024!
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ooooh! I love laughter…I’m so wary of snake’s that the image of a snake sighting being abundance is surprising. Delightful. Different. Wonderful!
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Oh. My. Gosh. A snake of generosity.
I am turned inside out by this poem.
Never in a million years would this metaphor have come to me, the snake-fearer. I feel entirely transformed. (Your noisy laughter poem is really great too.) Thanks for plunging all the way in and playing along, Mary Lee.
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The wonder and silent ferocity captured in a serpent becoming a giver —lovely, and snakes are intriguing. Thanks too for being with the sounds of animals in your laughter poem. 😌
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Mary Lee, I so enjoyed both of these poems. The snake simile for gratitude is unexpected and delightful, and the comparison of various animal sounds to laughter is lovely. Both poems made me smile!
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Ooh…I love snake as generosity! So creative, Mary Lee! What a joy this gift from Heidi is, too.
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Such an awesome gift and I love that you were able to write to all the prompts.
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I love how you came at generosity from such a unique angle and made me (almost) wish to see a snake on a trail, slipping off into the underbrush. Your poem on laughter is a beautiful love song. That final stanza pulls it all together so brilliantly!
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Like others I really enjoyed the surprise of generosity as a snake. Thank you for making me think again.
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Mary Lee, “12 Days of Yuletide Poetry Prompts” Challenge held surprising and interesting poems from you. I would love to the rest of your poems for this challenge. May you continue to bring the serious, the humorous, and the lovely gentle poems to us this year.
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I love your poem about gratitude especially it not requiring recognition or fuss. The expectation that one will get something back is something else. And the last line in your poem about laughter is perfect.
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