The Necklace

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  “SHE WAS one of those pretty, charming young ladies, born, as if through an error of destiny, into a family of clerks. She had no dowry, no hopes, no means of becoming known, appreciated, loved, and married by a man either rich or distinguished; and she allowed herself to marry a petty clerk in the office of the Board of Education. . . .  She had neither frocks nor jewels, nothing. And she loved only those things. She felt that she was made for them. She had such a desire to please, to be sought after, to be clever, and courted.” —THE NECKLACE Guy de Maupassant    France, 1884 (pic by Grok) Read this short story here:  https://americanliterature.com/author/guy-de-maupassant/short-story/the-necklace

The Ghosts of Christmas: Ichabod, meet God

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O, Ichabod Crane,
O, Crane Ichabod!
Finds glory for self,
Steals glory from God.
The thin pedagogue from New England's coast,
Stuffs himself full of what pleases him most.

Skyward sail-born masts a-jut,
Arks slip by that hollow of Connecticut,
where Ichabod makes his fun in the day
by delighting his senses (yet wasting away).

Distracted by tales that give him the rise,
our dear Mr. Crane at night must devise
a safe way to go from this place to that,
and not lose his way, his nerve, or his hat.

Encouraging youth down the pathways of knowledge,
our chief tutor's days, weeks and years in the college
give him no comfort (O, poor Ichabod)
for the day he would stand alone before God,
who would say,
"Look at this!
Here one stands outside heavenly bliss!
Why did you keep for yourself all my glory?
You act as if headless! You know my story!
My life among men was to save all the lost,
yet you lived all your life as if you were the boss."

And Ichabod Crane would be turned away--
how depressing a story, wouldn't you say?

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