We yearn once more to be in that happy space called Christmas!
Where family and friends abound,
With holiday cheer, sights, and sounds,
Feasts, gifts, twinkling lights, dazzling decor,
Children and elders singing carols of yore.
But this year will Santa visit one and all?
Hospitals in Gaza are not on his list.
Tumbled down homes in Ukraine will be missed.
So will those lost in mass shootings at home,
Their names written in some heavenly tome.
But Christmas keeps on coming, it never gives up!
It has something important to say,
A message to practice beyond one day.
It’s source is not Santa nor gifts, but LOVE
And PEACE flying to all, one blessed dove.
This eternal bird never gives up either!
He tells us that no hunger, homelessness, hatred, nor lies,
Nor fear, conspiracies, autocracy abides
In LOVE and PEACE, which we are all designed to give.
This is the TRUTH each one of us must practice, must live.
The dove has been a symbol of peace, love, innocence, and the end of war, for thousands of years, in many different cultures and religions—Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
The Dove We Need in 2023, approx. 8″ x 10″, unmatted, $95 by Gwendolyn Evans
Artwork: The Dove We Need in 2023, approx. 8″ x 10″, unmatted, $95. This is my Christmas card for 2023–the art work is watercolor, pastel, and ink and the poem I wrote especially for this hard year. I’ve been making original Christmas cards since I was in grade school–that’s about 70 cards! Mom and Dad used my cards as their annual card until I left home; then I made them for my own use, and then my own family’s use. The older I got the more the cards took on deeper meaning, as does this one. I love listening for the right idea, then the words and art flow.