As a child, I always hoped to find a four-leaf clover, considered a good luck charm in my youth. Notwithstanding many hours devoted to searching clover patches for long-stems to braid clover chains, I never recall finding one. After all, four-leaf clovers do not occur often. One source estimates the odds at ten thousand to one. (Four-leaf clover, wikopedia.org) With such odds, no wonder I had never found one.

According to tradition each leaf of the four-leaf clover represents something. For example, the first leaf, for faith; the second, for hope; the third, for love; and the fourth, for luck. But I recall a different take in the familiar lyrics of a popular song, written by Mort Dixon (1892—1956), with music by Harry M. Woods (1896—1970). It became a hit song in 1927, and revived in 1948, topping the charts for 18 weeks (wikopedia.org):

“I’m looking over, a four-leaf clover
That I overlooked before
One leaf is sunshine, the second is rain
Third is the roses, that bloom in the lane
No need explaining, the one remaining
Is somebody I adore.”

To be sure, sunshine, rain and roses are nice, but love brought by the fourth leaf brings a refreshing thought, and keeps a keen eye watching. The love leaf is appropriately sandwiched between sunshine and roses, being diametrically opposed to rain in the distance.

In addition to love, the Irish associate a four leaf clover with luck and frequently wear a shamrock for that purpose, particularly on St Patrick’s Day. “The shamrock is recognized the world over as the badge of Ireland.” (irish-genealogy-toolkit.com), and is protected under the Irish Trademark Act of 1996 by restricting the three clover leaf emblem to goods or services of Irish origin.

Botanically, the shamrock is categorized as a “ vigorous, rhizomatous, stem-rooting perennial with trifoliate leaves.” (History of the Shamrock, by Michelle Gervais finegardening.com), and sometimes called an Oxalis or Shamrock Plant.

So there you have it! A four-leaf clover symbolizes love, luck, or lucky in love, all good reasons for looking over clover.

What constitutes a look? Depending on its purpose, a look may be quick, long, pleasant, or nasty, among others.

Definition: as a verb, “to direct one’s gaze toward someone or something, or in a specified direction;” as a noun, “an act of directing one’s gaze in order to see someone or something.” (Google .com.) A look, therefore, is an act intended to focus attention on the object of the look. A simple gaze, however, may reveal more than desired; such as disclosing the gazer’s state without expressing a word. Lets look at some “look” alternatives:

Sneaky: A peek, peer, or peep suggest an unobserved look; such as peeking, peering, peeping through a keyhole, like a Peeping Tom hoping for an eye popping look.

Lengthly: To examine, witness, study, inspect, observe, or scrutinize suggest a more intense look with a fully focused mind to evaluate the subject matter.

Quickly: A blink, glance, glimpse, scan, or browse suggest a cursory look, without much focus on mental attention.

Emotional: To glare, glower, or gloat express emotion, as anger, annoyance or triumph in the eyes of the beholder.

Intense: To fixate, stare, gape or gawk suggest an intense, lengthly look, with gape adding an open mouth in disbelief or wonderment.

Lustful: To ogle (desire) or to leer (lecherous) suggests a prurient interest in the subject matter. I suppose one could ogle or leer with a gape, depending on the lollapalooza of interest.

At least one look word, “peruse”, expresses diametrically opposed meanings; i.e., to scan quickly or study intently, as “a. to examine or consider with attention and in detail; study; b, to look over or through in a casual or cursory manner.” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary) I suppose, the nature of a peruse depends on how you look at it.

In addition to the above, a look may also be: amorous, askance, beaming, bewildered, compassionate, impertinent, mischievous, provocative, defiant, roguish, ferocious, piercing, fearful, contemptuous, scornful, sheepish, knowing, lingering, incredulous, indignant, vindictive, grateful, icy, to name a few.

Accordingly, when taking a look at someone or something, you have a full palate of colors at your disposal either to reveal your mood, or conceal it with controlled deception. The look is yours.

I do not recall when I first came across the title word, but do recall asking: “What’s an emoji?” My grandchildren gleefully replied: “It’s a smiley face!” Thus, revealing the divide between generations.

After that epiphany moment, I became more attune to symbols used in text messages. Not all emoji’s, however, represent smiley faces. Some show not so nice features; including, faces with a large extended tongue, with horns atop its head, with tears and downturned mouth, and so on. Others show no face at all, like a hand with the middle finger extended — no generational divide here!

Figuratively related to the emoji is an emoticon, both popularized during the email, texting era. Definitions: An “emoji” is “any of various small images, symbols, or icons used in text fields in electronic communications (as in text messages, emails or social media) to express the emotional attitude of the writer, . . . ;“ An “emoticon” is “a group of keyboard characters that typically represent a facial expression or suggests and attitude or emotion and that is used especially in computerized communications.” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary.)

On January 30, 2018, Wall Street Journal carried a front page article on the topic, reporting that the emoji has taken on baffling legal connotations, particularly for the “unamused face,” increasingly becoming the “bones of contention in lawsuits ranging from business disputes, to harassment to defamation.” In 2017 alone, “emojis or emoticons were mentioned in 33 U.S. federal and state court opinions,…” The bottom line: Beware that your emoji or emoticon could be used against you to prove your real intention.

The emoji originated from Japanese culture, so some emoji meanings stem from the original meanings whereas others have taken on completely different meanings in modern culture. Remarkably, a world organization, The Unicode Consortium (unicode.org) sets global standards for emojis. They consider submissions, which must follow a set format, including expected usage level and meaning. Currently, Unicode has approved more than 100,000 characters, presenting an enlightened opportunity to find the perfect symbol to express your view — if you can find it!

I sought in vain to locate an emoji showing a smiley face with tongue in cheek. If I had found one, I still would remain unsure if its meaning may match what I intended. Accordingly, I will skip the emoji, concluding with a familiar emoticon, : )

Imagination is defined as: “The act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary.) Children often use their imaginations in play, by pretending a make-believe setting while acting as a make-believe person, an important aspect in their development.

Two giants in their chosen fields of physics and literature wrote about the importance of imagination.

1) Albert Einstein (1879—1955), German-American physicist, considered by most as a genius, had the following to say about imagination:

— “The first sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination.”

— “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”

— “Imagination is more important than knowledge, for knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world and all there will be to know and understand.”

— “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”

If Einstein credited imagination for his startling discoveries, perhaps we should take notice and engage our imaginations more.

(2) J.K Rowling (b 1965), the author of the best-selling Harry Potter book series, addressed the importance of imagination to the Harvard University graduates at their 2008 commencement:

— “Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared. (Harvard Magazine, June 5, 2008.)

Surely, a reader must engage their imagination to understand Harry Potter’s unique world.

In olden times, people attended stage plays to experience and visualize drama or comedy. The Motion Picture Industry translated the stage performances to the silver screen. Both carried visual and aural input, thus requiring less use of imagination. The advent of radio brought the stage and movie product over the air waves by actors reading scripts to a wide listening audience, so the bulk of the populace could “attend” those performances through their imagination to visualize what the actors portrayed orally, like the venue, the characters, the action. Accordingly, people listening to the same program could have much different views on what the landscape looked like. Television returned the visual aspect, thus reducing the imagination factor.

Apparently, the last bastion for spurring imagination remain in books, which still nurtures imagination among the other art forms.

Reading or writing poetry remains an idiosyncratic pastime, competing with television, video games and smart phones. But for those who embrace poetry for its economic structure and word selection, the benefits can be rewarding.

Some years ago, I purchased an anthology of poems to read and reflect whenever the urge arose. I found many of the poems both stimulating and enlightening. One poem in particular captured my fascination: Mule Team and Poster (1987) by Donald Justice (1927-2004.) It described the poet’s thoughts respecting a 1936 photograph of Walker Evans (1903-1975), a photojournalist during the Great Depression. The words brought more meaning to that photographic scene than any casual observation would have experienced.

Over our family room mantle hung a print of a bucolic, pastoral scene, into which I frequently immersed myself, pretending to stroll through the peaceful place and imagined surrounds. My frequent immersions led to writing a poem of my own, without formal training or experience. It produced a myriad of drafts, seeking the best words to describe my reverie. I tried rhyme, which added more complication and limited word selection, so I moved to free verse until my inner ear attuned to the syllables and word selection, and followed the advise of the French poet, Charles Baudelaire (1821—1867):

— “At its best, a poem is full of space and reverie.”

A framed print:
Hanging expressionless
Over the mantle place
For many years.

An accent piece:
Bought for color
Matching a decor
Long changed

A snapshot capturing:
The peaceful ambience
Of a less hectic world
In an earlier time,

Open fields, overgrown grass
Enticing a quiet walk
Along an ancient path
Leading to and from nowhere

Unfelt breezes
Whisk leaves askew
On bush and tree
To frame the background

A stone wall suggesting
Boundary and privacy
To a nearby house
White, cool and inviting

A treasure of tranquility:
Despite its inapt decor
Earning a revered place
For contemplative journeys

Whether my poem is any good or not matters little to me, as a rereading always transports me to a welcome, peaceful, relaxing place.

— “One of the best things about paintings is their silence, which prompts reflection and random reverie.” Mark Stevens (1916—1994)

Most likely, the above title evokes the 1843 novelette, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens (1812–1870.) In my working years, I read it annually in early December, as if moved along by Tiny Tim’s crutch, to attain the Yuletide spirit. My mood, generally outraged by the predatory commercialization of Christmas advertising and promotion before Thanksgiving, gradually inched forward from the famed “Bah! Humbug” orations of Scrooge, before his overnight reformation by three Christmas spirits, to the delightful, loving characters of Old Fezziwig, Bob Cratchit and Scrooge’s nephew, Fred. After reading the novelette several times, I knew the dialog by heart, and could quote the lines.

In recent years, I had taken to watching one of the several movies based upon the book. Though the dialog remains substantially true to the book, the effect is different. Reading the book builds images in your mind, which differ significantly from what the Director of the moment presents to you in a movie, so I have returned to my annual read, and recommend it highly.

Christmas meant much to Charles Dickens. Over his career, he wrote at least five Christmas books and twenty one Christmas stories (Oxford Press,) as well as a splattering of Christmas reflections within some of his other novels. One such passage reveals a telling, sentimental reflection, which will rekindle pleasant memories of this joyous time.

“And numerous indeed are the hearts to which Christmas brings a brief season of happiness and enjoyment. How many families, who have been dispersed and scattered far and wide, in the restless struggles of life, are then reunited, and meet once again in that happy state of companionship and mutual good will, which is a source of such pure and unalloyed delight . . .”

“Many of the hearts that throbbed so gaily then, have ceased to beat; many of the looks that shone so brightly then, have ceased to glow; the hands we grasped have grown cold; the eyes we sought have hid their lustre in the grave; and yet the old house, the room, the merry voices and smiling faces, the jest, the laugh, the most minute and trivial circumstances connected with those happy meetings, crowd upon our mind at each recurrence of the season, as if the last assemblage had been but yesterday! Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveller, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home.”
(The Pickwick Papers, Chapter XXVIII by Charles Dickens, Oxford University Press)

May your Christmas be merry and reflective.