Freely Bound

{A letter to Christmas,

To a type of Christmas that only sees the shallow joy of the twinkle and advent lights,

and the brightly coloured packages,

shining in their glory on a holiday morning.

If you are amoung those who choose to celebrate such a day
in whatever way
you do -

remember the dark,

know the dark,

acknowledge it...

For we cannot be warmed by the light,

the gifts,

the hope,

unless we know why we need 
the light,
the gifts,
the hope...
Unless we know why we need

to sacrifice,

to remember

others over ourselves.

Give the gift of light this Christmas:

the deep light: yourself...

To those in the dark,
To us all,

- C}

Freely Bound

Freely bound:
    this gift -
                   my life -
              free of charge...
                   given at high cost.
Born a refugee;
    free to be unfree -
              I give
         the gold of you over me -
              for we are all refugee.

Freely
born...

All I want for Christmas is you
    and thirty-three boxes in the various shapes, prices, and sizes of your heart -
         the tags removed, but their worth
              logged and filed in the accounting department of my mind.
    These gifts, freely bound and boxed in love.

I sold my soul to the company store
    for you, I bought the song
    for you, to freely listen to
         the message,
                   warning us to not buy and sell our
                                                 souls (worth more than gold);
                   file it in the ethics department of your
                                                 minds (worth more than gold).

Gold, mined by the bent-over backs
    under the white man’s burden and
         shipped back home
              - home - where the heart (worth more than gold) is -
         straightened and bent
              back, round the circle
                   of iron and love, refined by the fires of hell to
                        fit around her finger:
         symbol of our love type -
              like our blood type -
                   tainted by the blood of the miners glimmering round
                        our wedding bands;
                             freely bound -
                             their sinful hands bound
                             by the sinful bands on our hands -
                                                                                   unfree.
Freely                 
unfree...

Hold on.
Cling.
Let go,
but still know...

Bound
         in community.
    We are all “refugee.”
    ‘mi casa es su casa’ -
         but knock three times
              and whisper the pass code:
                   free to enter
and find refuge -                         
unless you are “refugee.”

Freely
bound...

Come one, come all,
    except for you,
                            and you,
                                          and you...
        Wrap Jesus in a box under the tree -
borders for a refugee -
boxed and bound.
Spirits bordered and controlled -
souls worth more than gold
must flee -
forced to be free,
(gracias)
but do not find rest around our tree...
 
Yes...
What a nice story,
a baby
refugee
in poverty.

    Free 
to be a refugee:
                   You are welcome.
                                                This gift,
                                                             free of charge,                                                                                     at high cost.
Born unfree,
we are born refugee.

Freely
refugee.
              
         From 
Name to 
Number,
                   free to wander
              not there nor here.
Our
Name, bound by language and chance of where she was born
                                                                       a refugee becomes
              Number “fifty thousand three hundred and three” -
                                                                                            or “refugee” - ...lost in the collective departments of our minds...
         Yet, 
we are all "_______."

Merry Christmas to all,
    and to all a good night...
         Cold hearts warmed by the fire -
home 
walling us inside,
          watching you outside:
free to find your bed
                             anywhere -
                                               free from refuge 
anywhere...
    On this winter’s eve
we dream
of dancing sugarplums, 
and the freedom to dance and dream...

Free from the dream of being set free,
(from ourselves).
Free to seek,
to find,
to make
freedom.      
For now,
freely unfree.

Cling,
Let go.
Freely
bound...

My life
    I give to you,
         freely bound,
Born unfree,
    a refugee -
         freely bound -
a gift 
(worth more than gold).