Eden’s Lang Syne
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
~ Genesis 3.6
She ran to find him, to pull
her man to the center of
the middle of their world. She’d never seen anything like that first fir flocked just so and wound round with lights to rival the pleiades. The man thought he’d witnessed it all yet here was something still to be named. The woman reached to taste the ornamental berries then exchanged them with her man. With that gift their child eyes crimped with tears and they shuddered in their natal skin for then they knew what to call
the ache that comes from swallowing creation’s splendor:
christmas.
her man to the center of
the middle of their world. She’d never seen anything like that first fir flocked just so and wound round with lights to rival the pleiades. The man thought he’d witnessed it all yet here was something still to be named. The woman reached to taste the ornamental berries then exchanged them with her man. With that gift their child eyes crimped with tears and they shuddered in their natal skin for then they knew what to call
the ache that comes from swallowing creation’s splendor:
christmas.
It occurred to me this year, as my husband and I had our annual fight over the tree (crooked as usual!) that men and women have been standing in the shadow of a tree arguing since the beginning of time. This helped me see the Christmas tree not as potentially perfect symbol of our great striving, but rather as a symbol of our brokenness and need. Love your words above.