Christmas Night

All is calm, it is Christmas night Time almost still in reverence Shutters pulled, streets empty, bare A Holy silence reigning Holding it's presence to celebrate a birth. Panic over, presents exchanged Fairy lights peep through drapes Little ones tucked in - depleted Weary Mums sleep in easy chairs Dad's still playing with toy trains. Children come home from abroad To rekindle after years of parting They tell safe tales of life and travels Mothers weep, joy and sadness They look back, they look forward. Fridges bulge with turkeys and ham Free range this and free range that. Fruit cakes iced with winter whiteness Decked with ribbons on festive tables. Empty port bottles awaiting recycle. Newly weds share their first Christmas Some couples share their last. Thousands of red candles flicker. Youths play board games and charades In some homes all hell breaks loose. The Queen of England is on television She speaks of God and of the economy. The homeless man is sleeping Somewhere in the Kerry mountains. A friend took him his Christmas dinner. Adeste Fideles plays out the night A leaf blows down the sleepy street The festive lights sway in the breeze Christmas night is closing in.