By the end of the poem the speaker wholly identifies with Thor, capable of destruction as well as creation and blessing, and the poem ends in a place of tremendous raw power and confidence with her joyfully striking the flat glowing disc of her “own sun.” What a wonderful affirmation of the act of creativity!

I was hooked by "Yuletide," then drawn in by the breathless, energetic style offering a fresh take on an old story of love, loss, and redemption.

Christina Rossetti was devoted to deep Christian conviction and a rich artistic sensibility. Both influences can be seen in this poem’s spare, even stark diction that seems to belie the intensity of its imagery and underlying religious themes.

We each see, hear, sense what we think we’re saying or hearing; but often that connection to another is lost. And silence looms in the air.

The poem is more broadly about the struggle of the speaker to separate from her mother and be born as an individual, and of course, about the same conflict confronted by all mothers and daughters throughout time.

I find today’s poems marvelously lyrical and experiential—phrases like “sweet deviant chant,” “less the nuance,” and “suave hours” give sharp delight in their sound and sense.

One strength of today’s poem, though, is that it works even for readers not familiar with that infamous case involving a Stanford swimmer convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious young woman behind a dumpster. Even before #metoo, sexual assaults like this are common enough, unfortunately, that readers will get the gist.

This brief lyric poem captures a moment familiar to most parents experiencing dismay at the state of the world and the need to grapple with that in the context of having children they want to protect.