Best Sleigh Poems
I dream of riding in a sleigh through falling snow
Moving in the shine of colorful lights that glow
I can hear the caroling of songs on my way
It is a beautiful season and I now pray
Moving in the shine of colorful lights that glow
Candles light windows and chimney’s puff a smoke flow
It is a beautiful season and I now pray
For love, joy and warmth in the warm houses to stay
Candles light windows and chimney’s puff a smoke flow
I can hear the caroling of songs on my way
For love, joy and warmth in the warm houses to stay
I dream of riding in a sleigh through falling snow
12/8/20
Entry for Pen a Pantoum Contest. Sponsor: D.W. Rodgers
Strong sleigh is needed to carry the peace,
a light candle is burning,
blow it out with a wish.
The sleigh bells jingle merrily across the horses backs,
The snowflakes fall around us, filling the horses tracks;
The silver silence broken by boisterous Christmas songs,
Midnight chimes on the clock over head but we’re still going strong;
The whiskey warms our insides as we pass the bottle around,
Aside from the caroling voices, the night doesn’t make a sound;
We’re snuggled under blankets, breath fogging in the air;
Riding along with family and friends, living without a care!
Pushing back the snow,
the barn door slowly opens
against the drifts.
Inside smells are rich and warm.
Hay and straw and animals mix
sparking memories of a long ago stable.
The tarp is heavy,
but uncovers a shiny red sleigh.
Runners honed to a keen shushing edge.
Sounding of hooves on wooden floor
Snorting his readiness to go.
Harness tight, bells in place
Isinglass heater under a buffalo robe,
cuddling close,
let’s go!
We disappeared into plumes of snow off galloping hooves,
with mane flying in the breath of nostrils flaring.
Sleigh bells singing their song in rhythm of beating hooves,
crisp air and joyful hearts cuddle under robes of excitement
racing, racing
Caps pulled down over ears,
cheeks chapping, hands clasping,
hearts racing,
faster ... faster ... faster ...
Christmas finds reindeer landing on rooftops
Santa’s kindly added some extra stops
His sleigh filled with travelers
Scared of TSA handlers
Scoff as coal through government chimneys drops
*For Francine’s Christmas contest
Sleigh Bells
Those who believe are hearing
Santa’s sleigh bells nearing
Loved ones endearing
Gifts we’re bringing
Jingling bells are ringing
Youth are singing
If you just listen
Reunions we’ll bliss in
Icey snowmen glisten
Scarlet poinsettias on display
Midnight mass exult in pray
Carolers chant ‘jingle all the way’
Prancing of reindeer on roofs
Imbued their paws with magical hoofs
Lies upon Santa, the burden of proof
It’s that time of year
Of merriment and good cheer
Joy to all, Christmas is here
There was a young sleigh bell named Tingle
She loved to ring and to jingle
She shined herself bright
'Cause on Christmas Eve night
She'll be on the sled of Kris Kringle.
We're singing the song of the sleigh
As Santa gets his underway.
The bells are a-jingle,
Our tummies a-tingle,
SO SHOUT OUT FOR THIS XMAS DAY!
Santa’s loaded sleigh,
Streaking past the Christmas moon;
Dodges bats and drones.
Mildest autumn on record up here
What will become of us in future years
Will we all melt away
No more rides on a sleigh
Just a horse and buggy, no muffs on our ears
© Jack Ellison 2015
GUIDING SANTA’S SLEIGH
An inventor elf named Alvin
was celebrating the day,
he finished his invention,
a motor for the sleigh.
No need to sweep the runway
or have to use the plow,
with no reindeer feet, Santa could
just push a button now.
Santa was excited,
especially when told,
it would cut his time in half
out there in the cold.
But later when he went to bed,
he tossed and turned all night,
something was on his mind,
something wasn’t right.
When morning finally came,
his head began throb,
he realized this would put his reindeer,
out of a job.
The rules state quite clearly
Santa reviewed them too,
that any reindeer unemployed
must go live at the zoo.
So Santa said to Alvin,
“your invention’s very smart
but I won’t be using it,
I have to do what’s in my heart.
Can’t see myself on Christmas Eve
flying across the skies,
making deliveries without
my four legged guys.
Through all the stormy weather,
we’ve worked together,” Santa cried,
“Christmas would not be Christmas,
without my reindeer by my side”.
Some traditions can be broken
but some simply must stay
as long as there’s a Santa
his reindeer will guide the sleigh.
Bundled in a horse-drawn sleigh
warm and snug on Thanksgiving Day
the children restless, we went on our way
as the shedding forest began to sway
and the gusts of wind set astray
the vestiges of autumn's display
that unveiled the cabins along the bay
Past weathered barns fraught with snow
and over covered bridges would we go
through the misty river's chill
turning toward the cider mill
its churning paddles frozen still
past the farmsteads and withered fields
the ghosts of bounty that harvest yields
caught in a breeze of burning leaves
and all the reveries the season weaves
We arrived on main street after sundown
gliding through the charming town
toward the chiming white church steeple
past the storefronts curbed with people
in the wake of the gingerbread float
at the stern of the Pilgrim's boat
behind fairy tales and candy lands
as the revelers sang with clapping hands
to the music of the marching bands
From the celebration would we emerge
from the flowery, spangled surge
to behold a wondrous sight
as geese took flight into the night
over the sea where moonlight sought
to quell the hues that twilight wrought
Frosted lamp posts lit our course
and into a trot sprang our horse
his hooves and harness jingling bells
as if to the tunes of sweet noels
while from the shops whose cozy glow
projected windows on the snow
there flashed the goods someone will leave
under a tree late Christmas Eve
the toys and clothes wrapped in bows
and all the gifts that a stocking stows
Now past chimney smoke and picket fences
nostalgic aspects that stir the senses
where old Victorian silhouettes are found
and gestures of goodwill abound
toward the sound of waves we wound
as our lanterns flickered on the ground
the atmosphere around us festive
while within full and restive
or nestled by the fireplace
or with their heads bowed in grace
folks enjoyed a simple pace
while outside others strolled about
amid the maize and wreaths throughout
absorbed in a twinkling universe
of colors snow-clad and diverse
To our delight there soon arose
a savory ambience for the nose
adrift from tables set with care
with a redolence that met the air
as we hailed the last of passersby
and climbed the road into a sky
whose stars adorned the snowy limbs
to a house on the coast, flowing with hymns
The Jingle of sleigh bells, herald
His coming on Christmas Eve
When Santa Claus takes the time
To fill our stocking and I believe
That Santa Claus thinks sincerely
It’s better to give than to receive
Through gossamer skies so low
And over the blue glass sea below
Peppermint stops
Ginger schnapps
Eight Reindeer hops
His jelly belly skips
over belted hips
Dashing through the snow and sleet
All night he rides
Weary, dreary
Down the chimney he slides
No sleigh ride's complete
Without milk and cookies to eat
A brilliant moon casts its mellow glow,
O'er fields covered with glistening snow!
Skeins of geese fly on high silhouetted 'gainst the moon;
The scene is all set for a sleigh ride, so very opportune!
The sleigh has been shed of a years build-up of dust,
And its runners have been waxed, a requisite must!
Dashing Dan was harnessed with jingly bells of course;
For generations he's drawn the sleigh, this gentle and faithful horse!
Mom, Dad and the kids snuggle 'neath quilts warm and snug;
"Giddy up" says Dad and Dan leaps forward with a gentle tug!
They sing 'Jingle Bells' and other Yuletide tunes with joy;
Dad reminisces about sleigh rides with his Grandpa as a boy!
They sip mugs of warm cider and coffee to ward off the chill,
Hailing others with 'Merry Christmas', wishing them goodwill!
Arriving home and after Dan was stabled and the sleigh was stowed,
They sip cocoa nigh the hearth to warm up from the cold!
Precious memories were met this night for future family lore,
As they anticipate next year's moonlight sleigh ride once more.
Entry for Constance La France's "Writing Challenge - Write A Christmas Poem" Contest
25 November 2022