A STABLE ENVIRONMENT

Pre Christmas ice was
our morning rise surprise.

Awakened to broken trees
and the creeping news,
hour by hour,
of the power of power.

Neighborhoods, 
in the lurch,
were left in the throes 
of holiday prep.

Driven by winter’s grip
and disabled heaters into the dark
they made their way —

    one flashlight there poking about.

No traffic light control
encouraged courtesies,
patience and taking turns.

All in search of
warmth, light,
wi-fi, TV,

refrigeration, the irony

or any
helping hand.

Decorated homes, unable to glow their mystery,
raised the issue of nativity quality without electricity.

One of the lucky spared 
we, in the midst of chaos,
somehow kept our balance

and in fact, gained new found power,

winners in the game
of who is the helper
and who the helpee. 

Blessed with beds,
couch and floor space availability
we could adopt an open door policy.

Then from the east appeared

chain saws, strong backs and good will
removing neighborhood tree debris.

And uprooted friends,
    cooks in need of a kitchen,
    willing and able
    to spread our table,

    snow shovelers and story tellers
    lightened and brightened the day.

Long story short, as Christmases go,
this was the best

or at least
among the top two.

Our decorations even thanked us
for their expanded venue.


DRK
Christmas, 2013