[the Writing of Kuypers]    [JanetKuypers.com]    [Bio]    [Poems]    [Prose]


video See a YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “Until all the Pieces Connect(written 12/6, on and for the day of the 1893 birth of English poet Sylvia Townsend Warner, which is also the 1746 birth of Scottish poet and songwriter Lady Grizel Bailli), “Europa and Ganymede Calling(written 12/6, on and for the 2017 date of plate tectonics discovery on Jupiter’s moon Europa), “Other Side” and “Broke the Reflection(for the 12/7 date Pearl Harbor was attacked), “Letter 09/16/06(for 12/7, Letter Writing Day), “Childhood Memories Six(for 12/8, the 1980 date John Lennon was assassinated), and “Ornaments from my Childhood(written 12/7, on and for National Christmas Tree Day), from the Janet Kuypers poetry book “Every Event of the Year (Volume Two: July-December)” for The Café Gallery 12/8/20 Book Reading in The Café Gallery 2020 book reading series (this video was filmed from a Panasonic Lumix 2500 camera; posted on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr). #janetkuypersthecafegallery
video See a Facebook live video stream of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “Until all the Pieces Connect”, “Europa and Ganymede Calling”, “Other Side”, “Broke the Reflection”, “Letter 09/16/06”, “Childhood Memories Six”, and “Ornaments from my Childhood”, from the Janet Kuypers poetry book “Every Event of the Year (Volume Two: July-December)” for The Café Gallery 12/8/20 Book Reading in The Café Gallery 2020 book reading series (this video was filmed and streamed from a Samsung S9 camera). #janetkuypersthecafegallery
video Enjoy this YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “Under Our Own Feet”, “(from) Visiting Pristine Places on the Planet”, “Other Side”, “Ornaments from my Childhood”, “Knew the Word”, “Until I Get a Chance”, and “Original Sin and Unholy Ways” from the cc&d 12/21 v316 book “Man on the Street” 12/1/21 on the 1st Wednesday of the month from 1:00-3:00 PM CST during the usual time for the “Community Poetry” open mic (Panasonic Lumix 2500 camera; on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr). #janetkuypers #janetkuyperspoetry #janetkuypersbookreading
video Enjoy this Facebook live video stream of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “Under Our Own Feet”, “(from) Visiting Pristine Places on the Planet”, “Other Side”, “Ornaments from my Childhood”, “Knew the Word”, “Until I Get a Chance”, and “Original Sin and Unholy Ways” from the cc&d 12/21 v316 book “Man on the Street” 12/1/21 on the 1st Wednesday of the month from 1:00-3:00 PM CST during the usual time for the “Community Poetry” open mic (this video was filmed & streamed from a Samsung S9 camera with a bubble filter). #janetkuypers #janetkuyperspoetry #janetkuypersbookreading
video Enjoy this YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “Under Our Own Feet”, “(from) Visiting Pristine Places on the Planet”, “Other Side”, “Ornaments from my Childhood”, and “Knew the Word” from the 9-12/21 cc&d book “The World Outside” 5/4/22 on the 1st Wednesday of the month from 1:00-3:00 PM CST during the usual time for and in honor of the “Community Poetry” reading (this video was filmed from a Panasonic Lumix 2500 camera; on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr). #janetkuypersbookreading #janetkuypers #janetkuyperspoetry
video Enjoy this Facebook live video stream of Janet Kuypers reading her poems “Under Our Own Feet”, “(from) Visiting Pristine Places on the Planet”, “Other Side”, “Ornaments from my Childhood”, and “Knew the Word” from the 9-12/21 cc&d book “The World Outside” 5/4/22 on the 1st Wednesday of the month from 1:00-3:00 PM CST during the usual time for and in honor of the “Community Poetry” reading (video from a Samsung S9 camera with a b&w Old Film filter; posted on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram, and Tumblr). #janetkuyperspoetry #janetkuypersbookreading #janetkuypers

Ornaments from my
                 Childhood

Janet Kuypers
12/7/19, on National Christmas Tree Day,
expanded from “ Christmas at the old house

The one thing you cannot forget is the tree —
when I was just a little kid,
we would sit around the tree in the front room.

That Christmas tree looked so tall, so powerful,
monstrous, made out of metal
metallic green with hints of blue through it —

it glittered just standing there all by itself.
Still, we put all sorts of lights
on the tree, and we had all of these old silk-spun

beaded ornaments that my sisters made back
in the day, and this tree,
no matter your religious affiliation — was beautiful

in the huge window in the front of the house
with snow falling, making an annual
postcard moment. To this day I put up a tree,

artificial (I know, I know, but it’s all I know)...
people may like the smell of a
fresh-cut tree in the house, but I never understood

wanting to be festive by cutting down a tree —
I’d rather let things live,
this is a season of giving and sharing — and to me,

destruction has no place here — or anywhere.
Now I fill my tree
with white lights and glass ornaments —

it almost looks like a sparkling bubble bath —
but I kept some of those
old silk spun ornaments from my childhood,

to remember what the holiday was,
but to also remember
that for some reason, no matter your

religious affiliation, the Christmas tree
will always glisten,
and will always mean so much to me.


Copyright © Janet Kuypers.

All rights reserved. No material
may be reprinted without express permission.



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