Universities and schools all back,
No slack in the system now;
Remember – no-one takes holidays
In November or December.
Roads are jammed, buses rammed
With bodies wrapped in scarves and boots,
Car horns hoot in frustration, drivers express
Vexation at delays. Journeys take twice
Their normal duration – and that’s not nice.
Still, the season of goodwill lies
Just around the bend – a time for friends
And frivolity; so forget the jams, think of
All the jollity to come. Remember – in the end
It’s all worthwhile, so on those cold dark mornings
Don’t wait to be told; turn to a stranger
And – without warning – simply…
SMILE.

© 2013

So we’re in the season of huddles and fuddles,
Of team goodwill and Christmas cheer,
As cakes and mince pies add inches
To waists and thighs – yes, it’s that time of…