Dicing With Superstition

(Freda who loved nothing but a London knees up)

Let me tell you about Freda

who kept souvenirs of Pope John

on her Welsh dresser along

with cracked plates and chipped

saucers.

A medley of mismatched crockery

where the cups suspended from

brass hooks would rattle together

with the passing of each train.

When it came to Christmas

she couldn't help her enthusiasm.

Her paper chains in primary colours

fanned out from ceiling roses in

each of her basement rooms,

no gloom permeated that place.

Each old picture frame

adorned with tinsel and those pretty

glass blown baubles dangled in their

spangled delight from a scented pine

tree in the parlour  corner.

Celebrations commenced in November

continued in December and extended

to March when reluctantly she caved in

to pack all those precious trinkets

back in boxes, just in time to greet

the arrival of spring.

On twelvth night I find there's

a struggle going on in my mind.

You see there's a little Freda in me.

I hesitate as she speaks.

"Why not wait?", I hear her say.

"There's no harm my dear in a delay,

no harm at all in a few extra days".

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

start the season early and let it last almost to summer....
everyone is so kind during that season of yuletide....or most are...why not extend it.
and this poem also shows that the darkest places can be brightened by what the inhabitants do to make it so.
j.

[Chris Shaw]

She lived in the shadow of the railway arches, but the inside of her home was lit like a 100 watt bulb:) My Dad's mum, what a gem she was. Kindest soul you could ever meet. Thank you Jacob.

Chris

[.]

I am sure we all know people like Freda; it reminds me of my Father and his family when he was young; despite living through the depression and not having much in terms of material wealth, they always managed to fill the house with cheer, endless baubles and of course, the rings of paper chains that hung from wall to wall. People of today may label it OCD or being hyperactive, but for the older generations it was just them trying to add happiness to their life's cauldron and it always seemed to work.

I appreciate this poem for its thoughtfulness and the places of memory it took me in my mind. A very lovely write.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Doodley for your encouraging review. Most appreciated. All good wishes.

Chris

[Jon Roggie]

Everyone has their own traditions, and long may they play.
There is nothing wrong with a few extra days.

Nice one Chris.

Jon

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Jon. Your visit welcome and appreciated.

Chris

[Robert Trakofler]

LOL I decorate so very much at the store and not a single thing at my home (my neighbors all assume I am jewish) It takes me weeks to get all of the decorations down so i'm pretty freda like too but more out of pure exhaustion and a teaspoon of overwhelm as well:)

[Chris Shaw]

Now you've got me smiling. I am picturing your store. That's quite an effort you put in there for your customers:) Like that you make a big effort and so what if it takes you lots of time to dismantle after Christmas. Gives you longer to appreciate and more time to summon up the energy to do it. Yes, there:s some Freda in you Bunny, and what a delight she was too as are you :)

Chris

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

Love this Chris! YES- there's a little of Freda in me too. Hopefully I can bring myself to pack things away by...February? Every perfect line and verse in your poem is so skillfully descriptive and evokes the dear person herself in the story of all of her quaint possessions and beliefs. "A medley of mismatched crockery"- fanciful phrases and great alliteration throughout. "There's no harm my dear in a delay,"- surely not, surely not. Happy 2020 my friend!

[Chris Shaw]

Thrilled to bits Annette that there is a bit of Freda in you too. Enjoy your decorations for the rest of the month. Thank you for this lovely and welcome review.

Chris

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

🎄❤️Xoxoxo!!

[CLR9]

you write really nice poetry. i like it a lot.

[Chris Shaw]

Many thanks CLR9. So pleased you enjoyed this poem. Appreciate your visit.

Chris

[Ted Kniffen]

She sounds like my kind of person. When I was a kid the trains ran behind our house so the rattling of dishes is not rare to me. I started decorating Nov.1 and will start dismantling after "little Christmas" on Jan. 8

There is an atmosphere that goes along with the season...religious or not...that seems to bring out the better in people...and it brings out the kid in a lot of us "old folk"

Thanks Chris...it's a great story.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Ted. So pleased that you too enjoy the Christmas decorations. I love them, so pretty and cosy too in the dark nights and short days. Freda was a gem and also my paternal Nan. All good things.

Chris

[Earl Schumacker]

Hi Christine. Happy New Year. I have not been reading too much on line these days but I found your little gem of a poem by accident. Love it! You have such vivid and memorable images on display here that are to be admired so therefore I do admire them and you for a job well done. Have a wonderful new year. Take care. Earl

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you for your lovely review Earl. So pleased you enjoyed this little write. Happy New year to you and yours. All good wishes.

Chris

[AYVID N]

So touching...I sincerely wish we had more people like Freda, or I became more like her. People like her are to be appreciated and admired for keeping the joy and festivity alive in their home.

With your vivid and vibrant pen, you bring her to life on the page and this reader instantly wanted to be in her home, amidst all that color, shine and festive cheer.

You have such a flair for engaging and delighting your readers always, dear Chris. Kudos on this stunning poem!

[Chris Shaw]

Dear DIVYA, thank you so much for your encouraging review. Freda, bless her, my paternal Nan. Kindest soul you could meet. She loved Christmas.

Chris

[Fay Slimm]

Ha ha - - thanks for the tale about making the best of home decorations dear Chris -- What a splendid character and you versed her so well I could see her dear grin as she put up those baubles and left them til Spring. - - - - I must agree up to her knees in Christmas pleasure was your London Freda - - so glad you shared her lengthy yule-tides.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Fay. A kindly soul who loved Christmas and could never get enough if it.

Chris

[emmajoy]

YES, YES AND YES, Christine!

This is such a glorious post, each couple or so lines painting a miniature masterpiece of that dear lady who knew what 'be happy and colourful and live to your own sense of full' really meant!

I'd never have all the bright decorations up throughout the year.. too much, too everything, yet.. yet when they disappear back into their raggedy boxes, the walls and sills - indeed every space, is so dull, so inert... so... sad.

I find sadness here, yet it's amazingly touching. Just a thought: a second layer of it shows brightness in a dear woman's life that perhaps.. just perhaps, is otherwise missing for the remainder of the year. Happens., doesn't it.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Em, really appreciate your encouraging review. Freda was an absolute gem. Salt of the earth. Kindest soul you could meet. Christmas was special for her. She just loved the season, its colour and all the festivities linked to it.

Chris