I Found Christmas

I am constantly in shock with the reception of my poetry.  I'm not trying to toot my own horn here.  I do it mostly as a joke or as a filler for something, yet people end up liking my stuff! I think I will keep posting things, if you guys will let me!
Like today.  I gave a talk in my ward about Christmas and I was supposed to talk about my feelings of Christmas and Christ.  I had a section written out, but it was under time, so I decided to look for a story or poem to throw in there about Christmas just for fun.  But I couldn't find anything good, so at 11:30 on a Thursday night, I whipped out a poem about Christmas to fill space.
After I gave the talk today, people didn't come up and say that they were impressed with my tie-ins of Christmas with lots of good scriptures from Isaiah and the Book of Mormon, which I had really thought out this week.  Instead, they were like, "Hey! I liked your poem a lot! I want a copy!"  What? Thanks? What?
So here is my filler Christmas poem. Enjoy!

Where Is Christmas?
By Michelle Ericksen

Where is Christmas?

It is December’s holiday,

Some Christians may say.

But others may complain

And forget about the name

Of the man who is Emmanuel

Because correctness is political.

Where is Christmas?

It is lost in the all stuff,

And in St. Nick’s bearded fluff,

The songs about the reindeer,

And whose heart goes to whom this year

I found Christmas.

In the Salvation Army ringers,

And the door-to-door singers,

The increase in happy greetings,

And the big family meetings.

I found Christmas.

In the words of a devotional.

In the love so emotional.

Surrounded by more charity

And reflective new year clarity.

They found Christmas.

In the sky late at night,

‘Neathe the star shining bright,

With the sheep grazing near

Under the angels they do hear.

They found Christmas.

In the arms of Mary

In a place contrary

To the birthplace of a King,

Of whom the angels sing.

There is Christmas.

for l'artiste in all of us

I'm currently sitting in my Music 202 class, learning about the genius that Mozart was.  Can I mention, first off, how much I love this class?  I love music, we all know that.  As of this last year my interest in art transformed from a mild respect to love.  And, duh, I love literature.  Music+Art+Literature+taught by an Aussie who knows everything there is to know about all of the above=Music 202.  Highly recommend it.
Anyways, being in the class reminded me of the opportunity I had to go to the Carl Bloch exhibit at BYU's Museum of Art with my good friend Cameron, recently.  I first heard about Carl Bloch in London, when some of my friends from the program went to Copenhagen, Denmark for a weekend trip.   A lot of his original works is in Copenhagen, including as part of the altarpieces for some churches there.  Bloch's work is frequently featured in LDS publications, as you Mormons out there will probably realize.  BYU was able to get some of the altarpieces in addition to paintings and etchings on loan to display at the MOA.  If you are at all interested in art, GO SEE IT.  It was so beautiful and was probably one of the most spiritual experiences that I've had involving art. 

{Christ Healing the Sick at Bethsada}

Even though Bloch was Catholic and I am Mormon, meaning we have some different views on Christ's life, I felt the central message of Christ's love that he relayed in each of his paintings.  I have a testimony of the fact that reading the scriptures is not the only way to learn about and draw closer to Christ, our Savior.  I believe that it is possible to feel the Spirit and to understand our Savior's life through art and music.  And I did draw closer to my Savior through the work of Carl Bloch.

{Peter's Denial}