All writers in Op Ed are here to inform and acknowledge issues of importance to our communities, however these writings represent the views and opinions of the authors and not necessarily of The Advertiser.

Robert Scott

Ted Kooser is an active poet living in Iowa who won the Pulitzer Prize for his poetry in 2005. His poem below is one that this column first ran in 2019, and it resonated with many readers in Edgefield County. The poem is copyrighted as follows: “Poem copyright in 2012 by Ted Kooser, most recent book of poems is Red Stilts, from Copper Canyon Press. Poem reprinted by permission of Ted Kooser.” And here it is:

Christmas Mail

BY TED KOOSER

Cards in each mailbox,

angel, manger, star and lamb,

as the rural carrier,

driving the snowy roads,

hears from her bundles

the plaintive bleating of sheep,

the shuffle of sandals,

the clopping of camels.

At stop after stop,

she opens the little tin door

and places deep in the shadows

the shepherds and wise men,

the donkeys lank and weary,

the cow who chews and muses.

And from her Styrofoam cup,

white as a star and perched

on the dashboard, leading her

ever into the distance,

there is a hint of hazelnut,

and then a touch of myrrh.

Merry Christmas to all the readers of The Edgefield Advertiser!