Holiday spirit? Come on, let’s hear it!
To warm up your season, do you lose all reason?
Carols and Yule logs and glittering lights?
Cider and egg nog for cold winter nights?
Do you stick to routines for your trees and décor?
Instead are you Grinchly with themes most adore?
Any pomander balls with their heavenly scent?
(Poke cloves into orange for great seasonal bent.)
These days I am working to manage my mood,
Knowing this year that my usual brood
Can’t be around; instead just one son
Is able to visit when all’s said and done.
But this news just in! A very dear friend
Is happy to journey and willing to spend
Nine hours of driving to come see yours truly
(Here’s hoping we don’t misbehave unduly.)
Regardless of whether with friends or alone,
I simply refuse to be Scrooge or bemoan
Any “lack” in my life as it’s presently going
(Or squalling or stalling instead of smooth flowing)…
We all have our troubles that stubbornly drain
The heart, the resolve, the wallet, the brain…
Yet we know there is sweet and accessible pleasure
In fêting our senses and all of their treasure…
Fragrance and color and texture and taste
Are accomplished with ease, and no time to waste,
Gather your forces. Do what you can!
Toss out perfection! Throw out the plan!
Often the best decorations are free…
Greens from the yard, baked goods by the tree,
Branches bedecked with this and with that,
With paper chains, popcorn (just don’t tempt your cat!)
And speaking of decking the halls as it were,
I feared all décor I might have to defer
Not out of wishes but limbs that are shaky,
(The left arm and shoulder, alas, very flaky)…
Determined to celebrate, hey, I got lucky!
Drove to a spot where the sales guy was ducky!
I picked out a tree he delivered to me,
Then placed in my stand, much to my glee!
Despite good intention, big boxes still stacked…
Now must I mention, ornaments packed…
So many utterly far beyond reach,
Oh, the frustration! (Unseasonal speech!)
“Steady, old girl…” (Yes, I talk to myself;
Consider that precious and personal pelf…)
Hooray! I could locate one basket of faves,
I’ve had them two decades and I give them raves…
Vintage they are, earthy pine cones in shape,
Luminous glass in garnet and grape,
Small silver stars and a folk Santa too,
With these tiny objects I’m surely less blue…
Ruby red birds and wood snowflakes I found
(Online and in stores, where sales do abound…
Eh oui, they are new; a splurge, it is true),
I couldn’t resist; now spill it, could you?
Candy canes make for a playful addition,
Abundant, this tree after all — no contrition!
A delight for the eye and a boost to emotion
Otherwise tainted by relo commotion.
At a time, I confess, after months of much stress,
When worries come knocking and hasten to press,
Reserves may be tested and character bested…
(Alas, even optimists’ smiles can be wrested.)
My sensation of “home” is sadly elusive
Though it is too early for thoughts more conclusive.
Post relocation, disorientation
Is to be expected (and too well detected)…
Thus what is familiar serves as a salve,
Helping me focus on all that I have,
Viewing my bumps in the road as just that,
Whilst dreaming a stretch in the future more “flat”…
Grateful indeed, for bulbs and their shoots,
For a friend who will visit to enjoy our shared roots,
For my sons in good health, for a roof overhead,
Hoping good vibes, somehow, to be bred
Through snippets of rhyme to spark a fun time,
Knowing this versing’s a writerly crime,
Yet these silly lines reflect positive signs
Of humor renewed — no “sentence” or fines.
And if all else fails? Please pass the red!
(My color of choice for pillows and bed…)
Poinsettias… so saucy! And just a few bucks!
On Crimson! On Scarlet! (Else everything sucks…)
So now let me ask how your homes are decked out,
How you offer yourself and your neighbors a shout
To a season of giving and living in kind,
Keeping good deeds ever fresh and in mind…
Knowing how easy it is to be gifting
With simply a smile, always uplifting,
For loved ones, old friends, and strangers alike,
And spontaneous laughs? The best possible psych!
Returning you now to your regular station…
(Inhaling those cloves… Oh joy! Exhultation!)
Do tell, in your places… your fierce, festive spaces…
In conjuring mischievous, sweet-natured faces…
What nurtures good feelings in sound and in sight?
In deed and in word, to fight the good fight?
What makes your home “home” and your spirit shine bright?
What small acts of grace rekindle your light?
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THAT was GOOD!
NO that was GREAT!
How long did THAT take?
To CREATE?
YOUR TREE IS STELLAR from what I CAN SEE …………
I will pop backwards for MORE INSTANT GLEE!!!!!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS………………. and in answer to your question we do a progressive feast for the neighbors each year which took place last night! Then the ITALIAN will load up the little RED wagon and head out to each house with a PANETTONE and GOOD CHEER!
XX.
Ah, Contessa… I originally spoke-wrote the post in prose, decided it was much too dull, then tossed the original and gave it a go in rhyme. It took about 45 minutes. (I’m very very out of practice! Shame on me!)
Will drop you an email… Buon Natale!
xo
The best gift of all, the love of a friend. Merry Christmas!