Hilton Head Island barkeep gives his annual Lowcountry Christmas poems a new life
Chris Wagner has outdone himself this year with his annual Christmas poem.
The Island Packet has printed his “best fishes” Christmas poems for many years. Now he has put them together in a book, “Island and Sea, Christmas and Me: A Collection of Hilton Head Poems” with artwork and design by Mary Trostle Design.
It all started when the longtime bartender at the Crazy Crab restaurant in Harbour Town decided send his friends something more personal than a Christmas card.
“For the first few years I merely wrote new lyrics to the traditional songs for Christmas for my fishing buddies,” he writes. “Later the works focused on other issues that I thought important or entertaining.
“Many of the words and ideas I have written have come from books I have read, greeting cards I have browsed through or jokes I have heard in my 30-plus years of bartending.”
The book is available at Tara’s Salon in Fountain Center, Coligny True Value Hardware, the Crazy Crab in Harbour Town and the store “Gifted” in the Village at Wexford.
Following is Wagner’s 2019 Christmas poem:
For The Birds
Of all the creatures I adore
Nothing makes me smile more
Than to turn my head up toward the sky
And watch a graceful bird fly by.
Birds remind me of what I love
Angel wings from high above
Symbol of freedom, sign of peace
they dream, they dare, then soar unleashed.
God gave the birds such brilliant colors
Their song much sweeter than the others.
No beast can match their wondrous flight
Their beauty thrills me with delight.
I love to watch them having fun
I love to watch them feed their young
I love to watch them hunt for food
They always brighten up my mood.
They feel the dawn before it’s light
Then break the silence of the night.
Triumphantly they sing their song
In hopes a mate may sing along.
Ducks and geese fly in formation
Heading home from their migration.
Pelicans dive in the sea
Flocks of blackbirds in the trees.
Majestic herons spread their wings
A robin builds her nest in the spring.
Along the banks the egrets wade
A wood thrush sings his serenade.
A wren sits on my window sill
Hummingbirds fly standing still.
Seagulls scream at one another
Baby chicks cry for their mother.
In the garden bluebirds hop
To look for food between my crops.
On the fence a red hawk perched
The hunt for prey an endless search.
Perhaps one day after I die
I’ll come back with wings so I can fly
And soar above humanity
Where boundless silence sets me free.
So for this Christmas you could give
Your local birds a place to live
A place to eat, a place to play
And brighten up you New Year days.
