
Christmas Eve
On Christmas Eve Zach climbed the stairs up to bed
All sorts of thoughts fluttering round in his head.
The tree was still bare, the house in a muddle
And Mum wasn’t around to give him a cuddle.
Dad had seemed grumpy with no time to play
What was going to happen on Christmas Day?
He’d put milk in a glass, a Christmas pie at the door
And left out a sock, with a note, on the floor.
He sat on his bed gazing out at the moon,
Joined dots with the stars and hoped he’d sleep soon.
Zach snuggled under the covers, but could hear quite a din
Things ringing and jangling, doors opening and banging
His eyes were wide open instead of being closed
But he stayed in his bed until at some point he dozed.
The world was all quiet when Zach saw it was light
And frost had made patterns on the window that night
A robin looked in from his perch on the tiles
And Zach thought that he gave him a robiny smile
The bird’s eyes seemed to dance with a secretive wink
But he flew off before Zach could work out what to think
Zach hopped out of bed and crept down the stair
Avoiding the squeaky step with well-practiced care
He slipped into the lounge and was amazed at the sight
The tree was all sparkly with twinkling light
But an even bigger surprise was asleep on the chair
He couldn’t work out how Grandpa Nick had got there!
Grandpa Nick sprang to life and started to sing
His own mixed up version of a Christmassy thing
For breakfast they beat scrambled eggs for their toast
And the pair competed to see who could pile on the most.
Grandpa Nick checked his beard in the mirror for crumbs
And Zach picked up a present and found it was Mum’s.
He suddenly realised they hadn’t come down
But just as he thought this and started to frown
The front door was opening and Zach went out to the hall
Mum and Dad had been out and not in bed at all.
Zach stared in surprise at where Mum and Dad stood
Until Grandpa Nick asked them to shut the door if they could
Dad knelt on the floor to give something to Zach
One of those gifts that could never go back
Not covered in paper, no ribbons, no fuss
But wrapped in a blanket Zach could see a pink face
‘This is Josh’ said his Mum and Zach grinned with delight
He’d become a big brother that Christmas Eve night.
And a couple of Seasonal Feather Stories
(But not strictly sticking to 160 characters)
STABILITY Illegitimate. Born under foreign ruler. Refugee. That’s the story of the nativity. God coming to earth to identify with humanity. Your choice.
MIDNIGHT Uncle D was in his attic workroom patiently mending clocks, long after bedtime. His nieces, curled in sleeping bags, counted 27 different chimes, wondering if it was Christmas yet.