COLD COMFORT
I heard that flannel nightgowns
Are no longer to be found
In Target or in Wal-Mart
So I looked to Amazon
And luckily they still offer
In every size and color
A plethora of nighties.
From autumn into spring I
Snuggle into scarlet flannel
Bedecked with caroling cats
Worn over lycra tights.
Nothing there is more comforting
On cold and cheerless nights.
OUR CHRISTMAS CAROL
We named you for the season but we did not
Know what elfin influence your name would bestow,
For as we came to learn in later years
You were the mischief maker in the family
Who dared your younger brother to walk buck
Naked in the snow to the wall and back,
Enticed your younger sister to taste a little
Temptingly sweet-smelling acrid vanilla
And your baby sister to try a bite of dog fare.
Treasure hunts in the mossy clearing were your
Work and forced marches down our gravel drive.
Big sister led her siblings a merry chase
For which she has long since been forgiven because
She also led them to Bye Bye Miss American Pie.
OUR SARAH
On the night you were born the snow had fallen all day,
Drifting, walling us into our house on the hill,
And since we knew that you were on your way
We waited and prayed for the plow which did not come.
As dark approached we thought to ride the toboggan
To meet with a cab on the road at the foot of the Heights.
Of course the plow did finally come in time
But that is how I think of your arrival:
A flight straight into our hearts over whispering white.
And that is why I think you were the child
To try a skateboard, parachute out of a plane,
Ride on your Yamaha into the White Mountains,
Run your half-marathons and keep up
With your fast-peddling husband on mountain bikes
And hundred mile road races, and why
You still keep moving, living life on the fly.
A CHANGE OF MOOD
The storm has passed. The pines bend low
Beneath the ruthless weight of snow.
The air is thick. My spirits sag.
This dismal day bodes news that’s bad.
Our power’s out. The house is dark.
The frigid car is loath to start.
But down the road an hour or so
A patch of blue sky starts to show.
A hint of sunshine lights the sky.
And soon the pines begin to rise,
Flaunt white Christmas bows and ties
Sparkling gaily in the sunlight.
Then I begin to realize
That my despair will lift in time.