I cannot do the rush of Ny would not make it across the streets in my older age. But in the past I have visited NY and you bring it alive again in my mind. Holidays are still special to me and this bring NY closer to me nearer to these 08 holidays. Thanks.

Incomparable.......

Many are missing the beloved Twins...again.

You ARE a diamond, Jude....and brilliant, at that.

God bless you,
Rhonda

Love the levels to this...a clever mix of the here and now combined with vivid and poignant memories...nicely done Jude. Panda :)

There is a lot of depth and emotion in this piece. New york city remains as does their spirits......M

Oh my! Something to strive for! I will be reading more of you works, for sure, if nothing else just to see how it SHOULD be done!
This piece was phenomenal, I could hear, smell and see the city, you awakened every sense.

Excellent description of New York City during the holiday season. I live across the water in Staten Island and you wouldn't catch me in Manhattan, especially at this time of year. Too much congestion is the understatement.

The imagery is picture perfect.

Wishin you and your family a happy and healthy Christmas.

~hugs~
Karen

yes, it is hard, indeed. healing takes time, sometimes much time...may you find peace and love these holidays and holy days cheers

It is like being there...

Surgically spiked! Holiday Spirits encapsulates the souls of the Twin Towers on a far more celebratory journey than traditional Christmas...while the ground battle rages, those souls are making it right from above looping red, white, and blue tinsel on the Big Evergreen in the Sky...Happy Holidays, Jude...it's been a wonderful year being in your company...

Sage

I remember stepping off the subway and walking up to the fence for the first time and feeling the intense pain in my heart -the inescapable and overwhelming sense of lost souls -not at rest but in a state of chaos. I have never been able to shake that feeling; I don't think I ever will. My awarness of those "Holiday Spirits" is always intensified at times like these when families gather together to celebrate life and love. You have written a lovely piece here, full of truth and I will never forget it.
~Butch

Engaging write. I've never been to NY.

Brett

Still haven’t gotten over the desolation
Of those sky-piercing towers
And the ghosts still penetrating the acrid air

Me either, Jude. Your poem's got legs. ~~Nordette

I came through NY on thursday, it still feels eerie with out the twins....

Nice stuff here, some good ideas whilst I'm over...

A very interesting and enjoyable view of Manhattan, Jude. There is something captivating about this city - it's uniqueness - that can be found nowhere else. I've not been back since the Towers came down, but could feel your sadness over the desolation in this poem. Well done!

Micke

Wow this is beautiful All this happened yet you never
Lost the Spirit of Christmas. none has gotten
Over the desolation of those sky-piercing towers
And never will!!
Stunning view of your thoughts!!
Merry Christmas To You And Your Family..Morning Star

so many thoughts bouncing around after reading this one, Jude. you've silenced my whining about shopping congestion and parking rates in Atlanta, for one. you've stirred my soul deeply with the recognition of all the spirits, the loss and the poignancy of moving on to a new future. and then there's something very challenging about this to me, sort of a reminder to keep watch and draw near to that which cannot be erased by time or tragedy, that which is found in a star sparkling like a diamond or in the hope reflected in a child's eye gazing across the far horizon. another amazing poem with flow and life, reality and a hope that reaches deep within and stretches us. peace to you, Dawn

Excellent write of NY
Happy Holidays Robert!

As true to the melancholy of our wounded collective HOLIDAY SPIRITS as it is to the determination to claim what joy and beauty one can.
Aberjhani

Stunning write my friend with the ghosts of Christmas past blending with the ghosts of reality of what those two twin towers of light represent. I have never been to New York but I can only imagine the sense of loss seeing those towers must bring especially at this time of year.

Fee

i love shopping for diamonds

You've really caught the underlying emotion of the holiday rush here.

Chrissy

thanks for the New York shopping trip Robert, 25 dollars an hour parking, gee wiz

Thanks for the free walk along the route unknown to me!!

The imagery fascinating in some way...but geeeeez $25 per hour...that is daylight robbery!!

Love Tinka

New York is bleeding money--a wasteful congestion of expense requiring $50 million bonases. Still, we place great value on its icons. Their loss lingers like ghosts of seasons past. A travelog of pleasure requiring some pain.

Ron

Wonderful scenic write. You have taken your readers over there with you. Thank you!!!!!

Wishing you a Wonderful Christmas and the Merriest Happy New Year!!!!!

Lots of love,
Sandie May Angel :o)

The voices of Christmas past do indeed echo in all of us Jude. We used to possess an innocence that we no longer can pretend is truth. For you, seeing the void is witnessing a graveyard setting amid all that should be part of the glowing holiday fare. It is difficult to get into the spirit of the season or even to get out to see the lights and all the decorated houses when the traffic jams are so frustrating that we just want to turn around and go back home. Here, we have the Luminaria. The whole town decorates their houses and the streets with the glowing bags. Every curb, every median, every fence and windowsill, dressed in candlelight...it is an amazing sight. I live in the Downtown/Old Town area, which is the center of the Luminaria, so I am lucky enough to be able to bundle up and just walk around for a few miles and see all the beautiful adobe houses dressed in a Southwestern Christmas. The plaza in Old Town (about a mile from my home) is amazing. The church, San Felipe de Neri, is the center and all the hundreds of years old adobehouses and buildings flank it on all sides. All the levels of the adobes and the church will also be decorated in luminaria as well as every bit of sidewalk. This beautiful scene is often found on Christmas cards, especially if we happen to have a little snow. People come from all over to witness this and it is a photographer's dream photo. There will be carolers in the gazebo and yes, I will go up and join them, and the huge Christmas Tree will be all decorated and lit up with thousands of lights. I am lucky to live here, to be able to enjoy the beauty of the season and to breathe in all of the excitement that clings to the chilled air as I walk around my little town on Christmas Eve. Don't let go of your memories, Jude, and make new ones each year that will warm your heart for years to come. Making memories to share with your grandchildren is really what holidays should be about. Powerfully written, this poem shows the darker side of the holidays which I think most of us try not to think about lest we be saddened by what we don't have instead of feeling blessed by all that we do have.
Take care,
Sherry

Oh what a wonderful landscape you paint, Jude. Don't let dispair stand in your way of happiness. You cannot change the events of the past, or allow them to choose your future. You, my dear Jude, get to choose. You are your own tour guide, agent and tourist. Plan well and live it!

~ Sara

Jude~ "Holiday Spirits" has one going back and forth with different emotions...your word usage, from bleak to beautiful...comparing Christmas shoppers to a heart in trouble...and then it dazzles, until the Twin Towers...another whole different emotion sets in...while trying...with sights on the diamonds...but never getting there...back to ..."on a Christmas night" I am left now with ultimate ponder...
Excellent, Outstanding, Magnificient! Need I say more?
I loved it...and so I keep!
Love and Peace~
Kimmy~

A beautiful and contrasting companion write to Bravura Solo Cadenza, Jude, using similar expressions and POVs. As ever, your concepts and usage of the time-frames are interesting as you effortlessly seem able to incorporate past/present/future in both the inspiration and interpretation of your thoughts. Although a glorious cameo of the romance (!!) of New York at this Dream time, I especially like the voyeuristic, tourist feel to it. And the last stanzas melding the diamonds and the view, on the face of it, from a deck of the Twin Towers, and the value placed on each of them. The lights on the Hudson would be diamond enough for me! Hearts standing still indeed: the tragedy of the 9/11 spirits, caught up with the living-dead of demented Christmas shoppers and the future hope of being together with and as loved ones on some future Christmas night... that would be Christmas indeed, for those who have loved and lost. Can feel the hypertension tinged with uncanny delight in this one. Neat work. TY K xx

enjoyed the read, glad i'm not there heh

25 BUCKS AN HOUR!? You need to buy your own parking garage, you could make a killing...Ed

Is driving in New York so terrible that it looks like cancer? Here in Malta it's more like bumping cars. I used to drive quite fast and took calculated risks. Today I am ultra careful and the less I use the car the better. Great poem. The Twin Towers will never be forgotten. Victor