These Are My JOTtings, Part #2

When Christmas Seems so Small

When Christmas seems so small these days,
I sit and search the yard
to find some meaningful displays
to help this aging bard.

"Up in the treetops squirrels climb,
running from these cats of mine.
Down to the backyard, running fast,
hoping escape will help them last.

"Ho! Ho! Ho! Who wouldn't go?
Ho! Ho! Ho! With them, I know,
up in the treetops squirrels climb,
dancing up there, and wasting time."

Some nightly lights fill with the sun
to make them burn and glow.
The darkness has not truly won
through Hope in Christ to know.

The greenhouse shelters tender plants,
protecting from the cold,
that when the spring brings thaw and grants,
they'll sit outside so bold.

I've planted shrubs, that need some lights,
but so far from the house,
I need that cords be dug by might
to protect from rains, that douse.

The time seems so much thicker, now,
and Christmas seems so small,
those playful days of childhood bow
to work, that seems so tall.

Will Christmas cards somehow be writ?
Will presents wrapped up be?
Will trappings of these days submit?
Will Christ, God's Son, we see?

by Jay O’Toole
on December 12th, 2022