This week’s dVerse Poetics is asking us to write about Alice in Wonderland and advent – I love a challenge!
I hope you enjoy my offering – written on the fly and with the wonderful line drawings of my dog-eared copies of Alice in Wonderland and A Christmas Carol floating around in my head.
Please visit dVerse to read the other thoughts of my fellow poets!
– The Message –
The heartless Queen rules o’er all the land
Alice stops her with just one hand
and a little help from her madcap friends
Turning tyranny to sweeter ends
The appeal of miracles and festive joy
Once a lump of coal and a handmade toy
Old-fashioned ideals lost in desire
for the next big thing to which many aspire
A cozy home and a family together
Are all we need in this inclement weather
Big presents, grand gestures are oh so passé
Shelter and love are the needs for today
So let’s be like Alice, stand up to the foe
of rampant consumerism – let it all go
The still, small voice will change society’s tack
And turn our attention to the real things we lack
Freya Writes... 
turning our attention to the real things we lack… yep…much needed change of focus in the wild consumerism that is unfortunately a part of the pre-christmas time as well… so cool how you wove both together freya….
Thank you, Claudia. I enjoyed the challenge!
smiles…i am heading into the inclement weather now…ice storm tonight…the next big thing…we do get caught up that…terribly…which robs us of contentment…yes, lets not let the greed of the season ruin our own…
Be careful in the ice storm (sounds awful!). I would love to turn the clock back to a few decades ago, when things seemed to be more simple then….
oh I think we were on the same line here tonight.. just let’s stand up indeed.. great form and lovely rhymes Freya… happy advents-eve
Yes, I rather think we were on the same wavelength! Most people I know are sick of the ‘stuff’ to be honest – whether it’s about Christmas, Hanukah, weddings….. back to basics is needed.
I like the idea of “A cozy home and a family together” as well as the realization that after all “Shelter and love are the needs for today”. I hope you have a great end of year and get enough time to relax and enjoy the festive time.
It’s the people that are important, as we all know, when it comes down to it. Thank you for the end of year wishes – sending them to you as well.
Yes, holidays definitely should be celebrated more with regard to family and friends & get back to the basic values that existed long before all of the present day hoopla came to be. I do think some of us are making some small inroads BACK though, rejecting things that just don’t feel in the REAL holiday spirit.
Yes, I think you’re right. I know so many people who are getting back to the basics these days in respect of the festive season. I’m sure it releases much of the self-imposed pressure….
Very meaningful write Freya ~ I think its important to show our children & people around us what really matters this season – love, home, companionship ~
Thank you, Grace. We had very little when I was growing up, and I enjoyed the getting together most of all, not the ‘stuff’.
Excellent Freya i do so like the notion of making Christmas more giving than receiving.
Thank you. One year I spent a few days working at a homeless shelter with some friends – that was the best time in recent memory.
Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday; consumerism is hyped & stoked until the frenzy explodes in fist fights & rancor. Your lovely poem, with lilting rhyming verses has legs & grit, & it rings true; loved the reminder & the ride; thanks.
Thank you so much, Glenn. There seem to be so many of us feeling the same, these days. Perhaps it’s a step-change that will continue? I hope so.
No prezzies in our household, thank goodness.
Only things like somebody doing the washing up unexpectedly or being brought tea in bed. Such a relief. And we are almost down to receiving only one Xmas card. It’s taken us years to achieve this 🙂
Well done! It’s hard work, making these changes. My Mum used make all the family Christmas presents – one year we had great fun making hampers full of home-made marmalade, chutney, lemon curd, sweets, biscuits, home-grown plants… And the family loved it all.
I like that! I know we’ll be cutting back this year and I wish family members old and young, would do the same. But, you know how it escalates; it’s like world war 3 with credit cards. Stop the madness! Thank you for allowing me to rant on and on. It really is a great message that needs to be taken to heart.
Thank you, and best of luck with your paired-down Christmas. The funny thing is though, that so many of my friends remember best the time we spent with our families, not so much the ‘stuff’ that went with it. Feel free to rant – all thoughts are welcome here!
Thanks Freya, I think I’m back to sanity now, I think.
Good – I’m glad to hear it! 🙂
Very nice. Great form and a lovely message. You really can write.
Thank you so much, Anders.
Yes, I love it. and I entirely agree. It would be great to refocus on the important part of Christmas 😉
Most people fee the same, I think! Thank you 🙂
Christmas – credit cards racking up the $’s, for those who usually cannot afford. Each year we promise that this year will be different – that we won’t let consumerism rule and we slip back. Bring back the simple things, the simple loving gestures.Beautiful write Freya.
Yes, it’s the simple things that truly matter – it’s a shame that we tend to only really understand this after learning the hard way. Thank you for reading and I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I dislike this time of year precisely because of the pressure to buy, buy, buy or you don’t love your family. Great poem and even better message!
Thank you! Luckily, when I was growing up my family never had the money to be extravagant, nor did they feel the pressure – although I think that these days, we are much more at the mercy of advertising. I’m just stubborn, and won’t give in.
Clever take in bringing Alice within the context of current happenings. Rampant consumerism benefit big players while consumers are teetering left with only crumbs. Great message Freya!
Hank
Indeed – the companies are only in it for one reason – to make money! I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
It’s the sheer numbers out there shopping…I really think cutting back to almost no gift giving is needed…am seeing more of the old ways coming back, though, bit it takes a community, begins with the individual….great response to the Advent prompt with Alice.
Thank you! We each need to take the plunge in anti-consumerism – others will follow!
Excellent message.
Thank you.
Stopping the tyrannical demands of past holidays to get down to true needs is great! I lkike how you built this message starting with Alice and moving through sweets to home.
Thank you, Susan!
A lovely message in your poem. Christmas has become so commercialized, and what’s really important is not valued as much. Nice rhyming, too.
Thank you, Loredana. Yes, we need to take a deep breath and ignore all the advertising!
What great truths lie within the words! Materialism is not the answer.
Thank you, Lorri.