Good Tidings of Great Joy

O come tarry this unsnowed field
powdered with invisible flecks
of winterlight springing blackberries
peppermint and lush red mistletoe
dangling off the naked branch of
the evergreen tempting no one
in particular as the last faint murmur
of December tickles the tambourine
of my ear you draw closer curling
my lips (your final victory) even
the ornaments draw inward hugging
themselves to the earthy root of
the tree glass shivering in the green

sort of reminds me of you crazy
diamond ghost in the backyard
bundled in scarves and clean sheets
eyeing me on the straw manger bales
consumed by tinsel & the way time
slows without snow but then visited
by a host of angels linen-wrapped
in grace and lapsed out of longing
they delivered a message i should have
maybe thought to have written down
some shimmer of light that would
have surely brought the world to its
chill-bitten feet gleaming like sand
snuffing out a silent white candle