The solstice approaches, that dark time of year
Actually, sometimes I really like getting a letter.
When all of the seasonal memes reappear
There’s Santa, the shopping, the big ugly sweaters,
The lights and the fruitcake, the holiday letters.
Too often they’re filled with all kinds of inanity,
Sometimes assumptions about Christianity,
Mumble of humble-brag, pix of vacation,
Now and then just way too much information.
But letters and cards have now all been surpassed
By electronic messages, frequent and fast.
There’s Facebook and Instagram, What’s App–oh dear!
We get “holiday letters” each day of the year!
Khati Hendry
Characterizations:
been there, funny, right on!, well written
What you write is true, Khati. But I still look forward to hearing from far-flung friends and relatives once a year so I know what’s up in their lives.
I agree Betsy, which is why I put the disclaimer in my pull quote. It is good to hear from friends even if sometimes we roll our eyes just a little.
Wonderful Khati! And so I see it’s not only my friends and family whose holiday letters give us TMI!
Happy days to you and yours – stay safe!
May your days be merry and bright.
Just a great RetroFlash, Khati. In a few words and phrases, you really well capture not just those letters letters but other holiday themes And you even make your rhyme schemes work beautifully while doing it. Brava.
Thanks–great praise from a fellow doggerel-meister, John. Enjoy the season!
This is brilliant, Khati. I hope you get meaningful memes and messages this holiday and throughout next year.
Thanks! Hope it brought a smile. May all your memes be happy.
Khati, I saw that cartoon in the newspaper yesterday, and thought about putting it in my story, glad I didn’t. Others may not have noticed your pull quote, since it only appears on the homepage and not in the story, but I did and I appreciated it. Your poem is remarkable, you may have even outdone John, because it scans perfectly, as well as rhyming brilliantly! Thanks for a great RetroFlash!
Thanks Suzy, and glad you saw the pull quote. Maybe next time I’ll add a note in the text too. I thought someone else might use that cartoon—it was too perfect—and it spurred me in a different direction for the prompt when I saw it. Have a great holiday.
Suzy is absolutely right, Khati. Both your rhyming and scanning are perfect and you have now simply outdone me, you have humbled me. I may have to stick to prose.
You are too kind. Don’t give up the habit—the world needs more silly poems.
Great cadence, clever rhymes, and you covered many of the classics, from fruitcake to sweaters to…holiday letters. Well done! And fun!
Glad you enjoyed the bit of light-hearted holiday cheer—be well and have a good year!
Perfect poem and RetroFlash, Khati. And thanks for the cartoon, which did make me laugh out loud!
And as we know, laughter is the best medicine. Cheers.
A smart, rhythmic take in three/quarter time, Khati. It all fits perfectly and rocks along nicely to ‘Night Before Christmas’ and carries a heady comment about how completely our communication has changed.
Glad you enjoyed it. I must have been subconsciously channeling the Night Before Christmas—had thought about it but didn’t check it when it came out as it did. Yay!
Loved the picture, too! But yes, your writing scanned perfectly to waltz time. 🙂
I’ve just never been able to believe that anyone is all that interested in the minutia of my life. Except maybe my wife, and she was there!
But we are more than happy to hear the stories from your life here on Retrospect. Not quite the same as a holiday letter, or TMI social media posts!