Thinking About Christmas Cookies...

A-Poem-a-Day Until Christmas

Photo credit: humblecrumble.com

A NEW RECIPE

I flip through a cookbook

and select, as I sometimes do

a recipe I’ve never tried before—

a cookie, full of aromatic spices

cinnamon, nutmeg, clove

even a pinch of pepper

I stir some dark, robust molasses

and the spices into flour

butter and sugar

then roll teaspoonsful

of the thick brown batter into balls

line them neatly in rows

on cookie sheets

and slip them in the oven

Gradually the kitchen

fills with an old, familiar fragrance

I can’t immediately identify

In a few minutes, I remove a pan

from the oven, wait for the cookies to cool

then roll each one in powdered sugar

as the recipe indicates

One taste

transports me to childhood—

This is pfeffernusse!

that classic Christmas cookie

that spicy little gem I hated

the cookies that turned to rocks

clunkers at the bottom of the cookie jar

These were the cookies Mom offered

when there was no other sweet in the house

the ones that bobbed in her coffee cup

dripping as she ate them with a spoon

Today, all those mingled spices

the dash of black pepper

are pleasingly hot upon my tongue

the sweet sugar coating

the pungent aroma

are positive proof

the taste buds of my youth                                    

have definitely

grown up

Maude Carolan Pych

It's Time to Set Up the Creche

A-Poem-a-Day Until Christmas

Maude's hand-painted ceramic Nativity

THE CRECHE

I was a bride of twenty in the mid-sixties

decorating my home creatively and economically

by attending ceramic classes Tuesday evenings

in Bette Carozza's basement

We sat round the table and coffee cups

cleaning greenware, applying

underglazes and overglazes

talking girl talk all the while

We made cookie dishes and ashtrays

glossy green Christmas trees with snowy branches

fitted with tiny colored lights

We made rooster lamps, pitchers and bowls

piggy banks and tall German beer steins

The most ambitious of us

made chess pieces and Nativity figures

I began working on my Nativity set in 1965

took a few months off after Mom died

and picked up the last pieces

hot from Bette's old electric kiln

on Christmas Eve Day, 1966

How well I recall carefully cleaning

the fragile greenware with a sharp tool

till the seams were perfectly smooth

sanding and sponging tiny bumps

and filling pit holes

Wanting to be as authentic as possible

I applied three coats of sky blue to Mary's robe

and ruddy brown to Joseph's

Jesus' features were less sharp

than the other figures

having been cast from a mold

that had been poured too many times

I unknowingly made the flesh tones far too pale

for Middle Easterners

The magi and their regal camels

were embellished with accents of pure gold

and I glued tiny rhinestones

onto their gift offerings

even though it's likely

the wisemen didn't visit the Christ Child

until months after He was born

The shepherds' garb were given earth tones

and a staff was provided for one of them

fashioned from a birch twig

I dabbed white froth onto the lambs' coats

and gave the cow big brown patches

making it a Guernsey

a breed not likely to have grazed

the fields of Bethlehem

The long-eared donkey was painted gray

Bette's husband, ChiChi

built a fine wooden crèche

with a place on top

to hang the golden-haired angel

who flourished a banner proclaiming

"Gloria in Excelsis Deo"

I installed a music box

which played "Adeste Fidelis"

and a little light bulb

and bought a bag of sweet straw

from Woolworth's

For forty-nine Christmases

I've been unpacking the big cardboard box

unwrapping the fragile figures from newspaper

and displaying them throughout the season.

Some years, when the children were young

Jesus wasn't placed in the manger

until Christmas Eve

then we all sang, "Happy Birthday"

The angel now has a chipped wing

and the Guernsey's missing a horn

but Jesus still lies sweetly in His crib

apparently not minding whether or not

I managed to get every jot and tittle

of His manger scene historically correct

He just lies sweetly there

year after year

reminding us

that significant night

long, long ago

is a forever celebration

Maude Carolan Pych

"Christmas at the Mall"

A-Poem-a-Day
Until Christmas

Photo credit: nj.com

CHRISTMAS AT THE MALL

Day after Thanksgiving, at the mall, what is this I see…

Santas sledding in the air and a tinseled Christmas tree,

a roly-poly Frosty, red-nosed Rudolph with some elves,

glittery garlands, balls, and bows, bedazzling on the shelves?

The shops are alive with music, “White Christmas,” “Jingle Bells;”

there are “ho, ho, hos,” “let it snows” and cinnamony smells.

It certainly all seems festive, so cheery and so bright,

but what oh what does it have to do with that Holy night?

I cannot find a manger scene, an angel or a star,

I do not see the wisemen…wonder where the shepherds are.

I do not hear a carol or the story of the birth

of Our Savior, Jesus Christ, Who dwelled right here on Earth.

Some, it seems, have cast aside the things that matter most—

By substituting fairy-tales, the Treasure can get lost.

My heart fills up with sorrow and causes me to prod

the fading faith of dear ones, who used to walk with God.

Lord, help us all remember the virgin and the Child…

Revive in us once strong faith that’s been waning a while.

Maude Carolan Pych

A POETRY READING & BOOK LAUNCH

Featuring

Elizabeth Marchitti

Maude Carolan Pych

  

ELIZABETH MARCHITTI

&

MAUDE CAROLAN PYCH

Tuesday, November 28, 7 p.m.

at the Totowa Public Library

537 Totowa Road, Totowa, NJ

in the Community Room

Light refreshments will be served

Parking in the rear of the building

It's Here...

"Wonderhoods" is my just released 411-page memoir, a poetic journey through the "hoods" of my life: childhood, adulthood, motherhood, and grandmotherhood. 166 poems and 17 photos. To order, mail a check made out to: Maude Carolan Pych in the amount of  $16.99 plus $4.50 S & H ($21.49 per copy), to Maude Carolan Pych c/o Sheep's Den Publishing, P.O. Box 2211, Woodland Park, NJ 07424.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

A-Poem-a-Day Until Christmas

Image credit: crosswalk.com

SOMETIMES I WISH…

A Prayer of Thanksgiving to my Savior

How can I tell

how can I show

how grateful I am

that You are my Savior?

Sometimes I wish

it was possible to

leave the roast in the oven

the suds in the sink

and follow my heart’s cry

to the land of the Bible

to climb Calvary’s hill

in beautiful Zion

Oh! If it were possible—

I’d fall to my knees

at the foot of the Cross

and wrap my arms tightly

‘round its stained wooden base

and press a trembling cheek

against the old splintered grain

and thank You for Love

so wide and so deep

beyond what I can fathom

then I’d kiss it and weep

kiss it and weep

and whisper, I love You

from the depths of my being

for I’m eternally grateful

Jesus, My Lord

Maude Carolan Pych

Thanksgiving's Coming...

Image credit: misskatecuttables.com

THANKSGIVING DAY HOMECOMING

She smiled as she dusted

the framed family photographs

on the old oak credenza

sang as she swept the kitchen floor

even Lysoled the bathroom bowl

with effervescence

Humming a favorite hymn, the woman

carefully rolled pastry into a round

next to a bowl filled with peeled apple wedges

mixed with sugar, cinnamon, and cloves

Spontaneous praise proceeded from her lips

as she stuffed the twenty-pound turkey

trussed it tidily

rubbed it with butter and sage

and lifted it into the moderate oven

On the antique table linen

that had been stored away

in her mother’s cedar chest

she set her best china, crystal, and silver

Then she placed a ceramic cornucopia

abounding with colorful Indian corn

and assorted nubby gourds, right in the center

Her feet ached, but her eyes sparkled—

This was among life’s highest joys

Her children and grandchildren

would soon be at the door

with their homemade casseroles

as well as hugs and laughter

and she would get to serve

Thanksgiving dinner

Maude Carolan Pych

ANNOUNCING...

 A POETRY READING 
& BOOK LAUNCH

Featuring

ELIZABETH MARCHITTI

&

MAUDE CAROLAN PYCH

Tuesday, November 28, 7 p.m.

at the Totowa Public Library

537 Totowa Road, Totowa, NJ

in the Community Room

Light refreshments will be served

Parking in the rear of the building

************

I just finished reading and recommend:

I AM REVEALED

Behind the Ashram Door

By Robin Barbosa

Robin is Jewish, and a member of my congregation.
In her book, she shares in depth about joining a cult

and living in an ashram for three years

while on a quest for spiritual truth

following her graduation from college.
She tells of the works, the intensity, the brainwashing
and finally, the deprogramming she endured

before coming to faith in Yeshua (Jesus), the Messiah.

Published by Full Court Press, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
fullcourtpressnj.com
It's available at Amazon.com.

************

Any day now...

I'll be receiving a shipment

of my memoir in poetry:

And when it arrives

I will provide ordering details

on this website.

************

Beginning Thanksgiving Day...

A-Poem-A-Day Until Christmas

Right here on this website

Grandmothers Are Important...

My paternal grandmother,
Maude Ann Walsh

AT GRANDMA’S KNEE

In loving memory of my grandmother, Maude Ann Walsh,

and dedicated to all of my grandchildren.

When I was a child, sitting at my grandma’s knee

she told me about Jesus, Who gave His life for me.

She made for me a scrapbook all about the Lord,

to show me countless reasons why He should be adored.

I still have that scrapbook. I keep it with my treasures.

Looking through it time to time is among my pleasures.

She told of His birth at Christmas; Easter, it was the Cross;

told of the sins He saved us from, when His life was lost.

She made it clear she loved Him; I learned to love Him, too,

and I grew up to follow Him, all my whole life through.

Now I have grandchildren, who sit upon my knee;

I get to tell them of the things that mean the most to me.

I read them poems and sing to them…Oh! we laugh and play;

I hug and kiss and pray with them in my special way.

Of course I tell of Jesus and why I love Him so,

and oh I hope they’ll love Him, too, as they grow and grow.

Maude Carolan Pych

Announcements:

Coming Soon…

Take a break from the busyness and enjoy

A-Poem-a-Day Until Christmas

They will be posted on this website, daily

beginning Thanksgiving Day!

It’s Almost Here…

Maude’s 411-page memoir in poetry:

“Wonderhoods”

Details will be posted here

as soon as they’re available

COME TO A POETRY READING

Featuring

ELIZABETH MARCHITTI

&

MAUDE CAROLAN PYCH

To Launch Our Books

Tuesday, November 28, 2017, at 7 p.m.

at the Totowa Library

537 Totowa Road, Totowa, NJ

In the Community Room

(Parking in the rear of the building)
Light refreshments will be served.