I went to the Sheboygan County Writer's Club Christmas party today. We met at 11:30 for lunch at Arabella's. There were 21 of us there for the party, a really good turnout. Our new co officers, Jane Kocmoud and Ann Pirrung officiated at a gift exchange, the meal and the readings. I read my Billie the Brownie story and a short one from my brother Matt's book Castle Mount.

Most of you know that my brother Matt was a poet. He wrote lots and lots of poetry in a very short life. He died at 17. After his death his friends put on a music event to raise money to publish a book of his poems. We picked out our favorites and I often share and read them. We called it Castle Mount because he always said that a poet needed an estate and he called our old red house Castle Mount. He did write a poem called Castle Mount.

Funny, my brother George put a book of poems together for US (the family) and called it Old Red House. We sure were attached to our old home and each other.

Anyway, I read Matt's Christmas poem. Here it is for your enjoyment.

CHRISTMAS IS OVER

christmas if over again
it won't be back for another year
the lights have been taken down
santa clause went back to the toy factory
so we can all fight each other
with a clear conscience once more

(Matt never used capital letters. )

Most of his poems were kind of gloomy and cynical. However, Grandma Bowser commented on that and said that she wished he would write something cheerful so he wrote the following for her.

GIFT FROM THE RAINBOW

did you enjoy your gift?
i know you got one,
everyone gets one.
maybe it's very small
maybe just a kiss,
or a pat on the back,
but, nevertheless,
everyone gets one.
where should you look?
i can't say,
why not just look in the back of your mind/
that's where i found mine.

Two poems from my brother. I miss him. He could see guardian angels, you know.

Mary