*
What’s it about for them, then
Loneliness, poverty, pain
Bang of the bailiff at the door
Death in a ditch in the rain
…
What is it like for the Joneses
Bigger and better you think
Posh port and pigs in blankets
Sick in the kitchen sink
…
What’s it about for him, then
A clock, and an empty chair
Picture of her on the mantelpiece
Candle smoke curls in the air
…
What is it like for her, do you think
Hairdo and heels and hurrah
Hampers and champers from Harrods
Packed in to Daddy’s car
…
What’s it about for the Christians
Return of the sacred child
Under a star in a stable bare
Jesus, meek and mild
…
What is it like for the Druids, then
Stood in the circle at dawn
Frost on the moss on frozen stone
Lit by the sun reborn
…
What’s it about for the children
Mysterious, glittery, bright
Hope of a mythic benevolence
Come as a thief in the night
…
What is it like for us, then
Rushing and spending and stressing
Cursing the souls in the queue at the till
Kissing a friend with a blessing
…
What will it be like for you, then
What will you will it to be
Riotous ostentation, or
Peace and sweet charity
…
What it’s about for me is this
One white and holy dove
The silence after the shops have shut
And love
*
© Gail Foster 3rd December 2016
