I Believe

taking care not to slip

I overstride the bottom stair

of November

and keen my ear

as the fates murmur their annual

carol of hope wishes and dreams

for the arrival of a white Christmas,

a passive glance to the pathetic

stinging drizzle outside augers

treacherously long odds

albeit much can happen in a month,

early decorations have already

begun to blossom like gaudy

houseplants on windowsills

and hearths with faux icicles

draping and dripping from

moss-filled gutters,

at the school gates children

spill out humming favourite

songs of praise and wonder

ahead of nativities and concerts

and for that brief moment

I close my eyes

transcend the dampness in the air

and still believe

Published by grahamrsherwood