THE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS
The city council met at Nine
To debate the issues of the
day,
Their session started with a prayer,
But did not end that way.
By Four O'clock a shouting match
Had erupted in the
room,
Arguments and disagreements,
The whole council out of tune.
It seems that city funds were low,
And Christmas time was
near,
The fight was over Christmas lights,
And other Yuletide
cheer.
One side said, "We can't afford it,"
Those opposing
said, "We must,
We owe it to the townsfolk,
Who've put their trust in
us."
"Well, that's too bad." They all felt sad,
"You know, life isn't always fair,"
Then they agreed no lighted tree,
No decorations in
The Square.
No shiny tinsel, no colored lights,
No gleaming garlands
twined around,
The town's old Fir would stand as is,
Untouched and bare
upon the ground.
The townsfolk were, of course, upset,
That year'd been hard
on everyone,
So many people out of work,
The town was near
undone
Money tight ... no work at hand,
And Christmas
looked quite bleak,
Folks depressed and in despair,
This Christmas ... bitter-sweet.
The days before Christmas came and went,
And kids were
warned on Christmas Eve,
Not to plan on Santa Claus,
Or expect
a Christmas tree.
Sad little faces then went to bed.
And drifted off to
sleep,
Their parents snugly tucked them in,
And kissed their tear-stained
cheeks.
Well, God works in mysterious ways,
As we adults have come
to know,
And that very night at Midnight,
Cold winter winds began to blow.
The winds so strong, they rang the bells,
In every church and
tower,
In joy, they rang out together,
As in pronouncement of the hour.
Then the heavens opened up,
And ten million snow flakes
fell,
That covered every house and tree,
And spread a Christmas spell.
The moonlight shining on the snow
Reflected many
times,
No Christmas lights were half as bright,
As those that this night
shined.
Then in the morning ... Christmas Day,
A magic wonderland
appeared,
Its beauty far surpassed
The man-made frills of prior
years.
White doves that looked like angels
Sat atop the old Fir
tree,
Cardinals strung green holly 'round,
For everyone to see.
Snowdrops clung like ornaments,
Crystal icicles hung from
limbs,
Red petals from Poinsettias
Had been carried in by winds.
The townsfolk look in wonder
At their lovely, old Fir tree,
Dazzling in a gown of white,
And swaying merrily.
The children were delighted,
And the grownups happy, too,
God took care of everything,
He knew just what to do.
So forget the city council,
And the businesses shut
down,
Neither one could spoil Christmas,
Nor the reason it was
found.
Thus thank the Great Designer,
For doing things His
way,
And for giving everyone
Such a lovely Christmas
Day.
Virginia (Ginny) Ellis
Copyright December
2003 ~ 2008