Worry in the Storm

As the heart of storm Xaver delivers its snow,
we are bound here in Belgium with friends.  So apropos
are the battering winds, the relentless onslaught
that we worry if Sinterklaas* may be distraught.

In the low of the land we all visit today,
all this fretting can give us the bends.  The sky is gray
and we all feel a chill, yet we wear our concern
for Sint Nicolaas and his impending return.

(Here in Europe, tradition is like in the States
yet the difference in name still extends.  Eager awaits
like the loyal in blue, and no matter the call
it is celebratory and fun for us all.)

Having come ‘cross the pond that Columbus had sailed,
we are caught up in all Belgium trends.  What has prevailed
despite fireplace warmth, is high anxiety
for the heart of tradition and all it can be.

There is frost on the glass with great drifting extant,
it’s amazing what low pressure sends!  O that he can’t
are misgivings of all, that the storm will impede
the traditional fare which the locals all need.

Now there comes a low battering rumbling sound;
the forced levity suddenly ends.  All round
this quaint house we listen--the signal is clear
how the wind is indifferent to any fear.

We all huddle and wait for the storm to abate;
it is clear our concern duly rends.  O that his fate
be arranged by a storm, that it would come to pass
nature be so inclined to preclude Sinterklaas.

28 Lines
Writer’s Cramp
December 6, 2013

*Sinterklaas (or more formally Sint Nicolaas or Sint Nikolaas; Saint-Nicolas in French; Sankt Nikolaus in German) is a traditional winter holiday figure still celebrated in the Low Countries, including the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, as well as some parts of Germany, Austria, and in various regions of Italy.