Women Wordsmiths And Christmas By Ketaki Datta

Merry Christmas in the Times of Covid

Snow cut into the macadam of the road,
A sledge trundled past with much effort,
Snowflakes flew hither and thither,
Like the bales of cotton while fluffed!
A little boy was about to dance
on the road, blowing whistle,
His mom snatched him away,
Giving him a piece of her mind,
Thrashing him with harsh tongue,
“Covid ghost is still around”!
Groans, whimpers of lost hope
Made way into the street,
Like a mad woman crying in fury
Sitting in her attic!

An old man looked hither and thither
Looking for a piece of cake
To drop into his lap
By the kind old lady, who came up
With a sweet smile last year to say,
“ Heres a cake and chocolates for you!”
He drew up to her villa to find a padlock
on the door, mocking at him.
A gush of cold wind dashed his hopes,
The woman, perhaps, was no more.

A little Jesus is just born
No, not in an infirmary,
But behind the mullioned window
Down the street, just a block off,
Where the kind lady breathed her last.

The old man kept trudging along
A young lady nudged him from behind,
“ Hey you, come here, my sister
is now a new mother!
We are looking for someone
To share the tidings with.
Come, have cakes and ale,
Here, in our shack.”
The man followed suit,
Found the little Jesus
Lying in the lap of Mary,
Cuddling to her bosom,
Peaceful sleep, cocooning him.

Oh Lord, you are kind to all,
Shower bliss on all created beings,
Both big and small!