Just Before Christmas, This

I went out back And sat On a stone bench To watch the sun set Just before 5:00 on Winter Solstice The cold stung the skin of my Levis Then fit the back of my ass and legs Like a saddle of numb There’s no frost line in the ground So my dog’s paws were dark as leather gloves His golden face and pink tongue Speckled black from chasing his ball Through the mud Steam puffing From his panting mouth Like a choo choo train Climbing a hill Fogs up my glasses The Engineer As he begs for another toss Past The fallen autumn limbs Stabbing the ground Like reindeer antlers at the end of rut Dropped off from their master’s heads Their use for the year Abandoned As the night pours over The vanilla day Like a hot fudge sundae The red coat of Santa A shiny cherry Lit Up there On our roof top Ho ho hoing To the longest night of the year It’s time for me to go inside Warm up by a fire Let my dog rest his head in my lap As we listen to the old crooners Wind down the world with Christmas carols So very very slowly.