In the December 23 entry from Tape For The Turn of the Year, A.R. Ammons writes, “release us from mental / prisons / into the actual / fact, the mere / occurrence—the touched, tasted, heard, seen.” For many, Christmas is a spiritual time, but it’s also a sensual time, of food, music, lights. It’s a mistake, I think, to elevate one over the other. The spirit and the senses are not disconnected. They are a two-way street.