Guest Poem by Michael Gittins

Born 1937 in New Zealand and early life in Fiji; linguist and language-teacher, with experience in four countries, and later teacher-trainer, Michael Gittins is now retired in Surrey. A little experimentation with poetic forms (pastiches, haikus) when a student. Started translating German poems many years later as a hobby. Persuaded to submit some translations to Acumen in 2019 and delighted to receive further acceptances since 2020. This poem is from Acumen 113.

Two Worlds

Season of Christmas cheer we adore thee,
We adore thee and greet thee
And men sleep outside in the streets.
We greet thee with carols and cards
And prepare lavish fare,
And men sleep outside in the open
With feet that are bare,
With feet that are crippled
And hands that wait there.
And we greet thee with candies and drink
And we shout and we laugh
And we laugh not to think
Of the Christ that we feel
In those hands that wait there,
In the eyes that grope blindly
For neighbourly care.
Season of Christmas cheer we adore thee
And feast all our neighbours ,
We feast all our friends and
Regale them with wine and good cheer
We regale them with beer and with parties
And all we can buy,
And men starve in countries and
Lie down to die.
Season of Christmas cheer we adore thee
And men sleep outside in the streets.