By Deanna Averill
Inspired by ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas
‘Twas the weekend of Winter Solstice, when all thro’ the neighborhood,
Things were being prepped for the annual Winter Solstice event;
The bonfires were lit with care,
In hopes that the neighbors will soon would be there;
The volunteers readied to walk among the luminaries,
While visions of eggrolls and wontons danc’d in their heads,
And DJ Lance on the tunes, and crafters readied,
with homemade goods to sell-
When out in the parking lot there arose such a clatter,
We sprang from the table to see what was the matter.
Away to the door we flew like a flash,
Grabbed our coats, and put on our hats.
The moon reflecting of the new fallen snow,
Gave the luster of mid-evening to objects outside;
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a horse and carriage, and one big horse named Rip,
With a Mo the driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be the Hitching Company here,
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and come all riders:
“It’s time to board!
“To the Humboldt Lane!
“Away they went, toddling through the parking lot
As snowflakes gently fell from the sky,
Onto Humboldt Ave they went, minding traffic,
And onto Humboldt Lane only to return
To the drop off point 12 minutes later they drew,
With the sleigh full of people – and Mo too:
And then in a twinkling, I heard on the ground
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I came back in, and was turning around,
Into Creekview, Mo came with a bound:
He was dress’d all in a coat and blanket, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all wrinkled from a long day’s work;
Neighbors searched for the perfect gift among the craft fair,
And they look’d like people on a mission:
Their eyes – how they twinkled! their dimples how merry,
Their cheeks were like roses, their noses like a cherry;
Smiles from ear to ear,
And shopping bags overflowing;
Out at the bonfires, marshmallows were roasting
And the smoke encircled their head like a wreath.
The children had broad faces, and a bellies full of s’mores
Dancing to DJ Lance young and old enjoying a cold winter’s night,
Laughter when we saw them in spite of ourselves;
A wink of his eye and a twist of our head
Soon to our dread the night was over.
Vendors spoke not a word, but went straight to work,
And packed their wares away; bonfires were put out,
And the staff mopped the floors
And giving a nod, out the door we were gone.
We loaded up our cars and gave a whistle,
And away we all drove, like the down of a thistle:
But you could hear us exclaim, as we drove out of sight-
Happy Winter Solstice to all, and to all a good night.