Solstice

This material is copyright Gripper Products 2001. Permission is hereby granted to perform this monologue at no charge in nobody involved in the performance is paid, and no admission is charged. For any other arrangements, please contact Gripper Products at cormo@juno.com

Welcome to my Festive Home

by Grippy and Cormo

Welcome, Welcome! So glad you could come at this busy season. Oh, you like my wreath. Made it myself from bits they trimmed off at the Christmas tree lot – to make the trees more marketable. Kind of fitting that I can take the irregular bits of branch and make a symmetrical circular wreath. And a circle has no end. Time is a circle, a cycle of life. Planting, growing, blooming, fruiting, harvesting, dying – but always with seeds for next year’s planting. Darkness comes, but always with the promise of next year’s spring. The evergreen is such a perfect symbol of the continuation of life, cycle to cycle, year to year, birth to rebirth, don’t you think?

But do come in. Oh, you like my tree. It’s a living tree, complete with roots, like the Norse Tree of Life. Yes, life continues year to year, cycle to cycle. The roots of a tree give it at least half its mass. If you chop down a tree, you leave more than half of it in the ground. I don’t believe in separating the leaves from the roots.

Tennyson wrote,

"Flower in the crannied wall,

I pluck you out of the crannies,

I hold you here, root and all, in my hand,

Little flower -- but if I could understand

What you are, root and all, and all in all,

I should know what God and man is."

Tennyson knew we have to grab all of life – not just the parts in easy reach – the brightly colored bits. How can we know God without roots?

Ah, you’ve noticed my mistletoe. If you stand under it, I’ll kiss you. Well, maybe some other time. I don’t just keep it around so I can kiss my guests. Mistletoe has medicinal properties. I can use it to treat rheumatism, arthritis, headaches, hypertension, and infertility. And I love the biological mechanism. Mistletoe is completely capable of photosynthesis and living an independent life. But most of the time it chooses to send its roots into a big strong tree and draw its nutrients out of the tree as a parasite. It’s so much prettier when it lives an independent life – it’s a parable without speaking a word.

Why isn’t there a star on my tree? Would you like an apple? Yes, I know apples don’t grow on evergreen trees. I tied them there to look pretty. Yes, I remember that you asked about the star. Let me cut an apple open for you. See, there’s the star – inside the apple. Another reminder of our inner talents and gifts. Nature is always reminding us to keep our sense of wonder and gratitude. Every season . . .

Oh, you just popped by to bring me a present? Well, blessed be!