YULE TRAIN
THE YULETIDE season is upon us once again. Every year it comes around faster than the year before. Some people love the Yuletide season because this is when they earn a living. Others love it because they look forward to the church services and events that bring people of like mind together. Some love it for the family and social gatherings, and the sharing of gifts. Others love it for the time away from stress and work; it’s a chance to catch their breath before the coming of the new year.
Some people ignore and even bash the season because it began as a pagan holiday but was highjacked by Christendom as a convenience in order to celebrate the birth of Jesus (the Christ). Others hate it because they see it as hypocrisy. They believe that we should show love and kindness to everyone, all the time and not reserve them for Christmas. Others despise it because it has become a commercial entity that even recruited a large imaginary elf to carry gifts to children around the globe within a few hours. Now Santa’s claws are in everything.
Then there are people who are very saddened, or even depressed by the Yule season for several reasons. They may have lost a loved one or be separated from loved ones during this time. They may have had a romantic disappointment during the season. They may be unable to celebrate due to ill health. Many are not able to fully participate or benefit because they are poor or without financial resources (disposable income) to spend as they would like to. Yuletide always arrives like a powerful train.
The Yule Train comes only once each year
It should be filled with love and cheer
Loaded with kindness in every car Travelling through lands both near and far.
It rushes in, from out of the blue But it benefits only a relative few It’s become a powerhouse with commercial pedigree Extracting money from you and me.
Gone are the days of worship and praise
Now they’re relegated to a minor phase
It’s parties and drinking and dancing and such
About the Saviour, they don’t care much.
Love and thanksgiving are left behind
It’s a tedious search those things to find
Hustle and bustle are the order of the day
You can’t escape the rush, try as you may.
From small to large businesses, you will view
Pickpockets and gunmen and scammers, too
All want to ‘eat a food’ at this time Whether by begging, selling or committing crime.
The stores are teeming with people, but you see
Nothing is being given away, nothing is for free
The spending frenzy peaks this time of the year
To pay their bills, people will wait without a care.
Traffic piles up from shore to hill We can’t get anywhere, everything stands still
Pushing and shoving and boring and more
The rampant indiscipline cuts to the core.
Where’s the Christmas spirit, so frequently vaunted?
It’s dampened, suppressed and heavily daunted
By the spectre of crime that’s everywhere
We try to celebrate but there’s always fear.
There are people who are longing to eat
Some of the goodies, a Christmas treat No gifts can they give, and none to receive
No fun, no good times, all they do is grieve.
The Yule Train goes by them, mocking their pain
It jerks, groans and lurches under the strain
Of a facade of prosperity, happiness and glee
To make great memories for you and for me.
Oh for a train that comes by every day
To give to the poor and with them stay
For hours on end and to all impart Kindness and true love to everyone’s heart.