The Joy of Christmas Warmth

The coolish eve of day's near past
was eerie for the month, July.
The chocolate peppermint repast
brought forth a mood without reply.

The cold could live but in my mind,
while torrents came from sweaty pores.
My thoughts of Christmas ever find
their respite in remembered lores.

What Joy on warm and hotter days!
What dreams of air-conditioned "snow"!
What Christmas moments on display!
What silent peace 'mid Heat we know!

What purpose could be possible
to think of Christmas in this blast
of Weather's large, and charging bull
o'errunning Santa's lonely cast?

A breath we need to quickly take
to slow down. Make the best of this.
Just pause and wait, an AC break.
Enjoy a peppermint as bliss.

A hot cocoa makes a joyful mouth
in breezes cold as frosty days.
A chocolate in the hottest South
needs air-conditioned strong displays.

This artificial Christmas cold
survives in a room or smallish place,
where twinkling lights with garland bold
make moments warm, and heat erase.

Each joy in this most cherished time
recalls the simpler, colder swath
of moments missed in summer's prime
when bodies need a thinner cloth.

As hotdogs cook you on the flame,
this eerie sight doth call to mind
the hearth and coziness the same
in winter's den 'mid white so blind.

Prompt for Christmas in July: "Peppermint, Chocolate, Cold, Eerie, Joy"
Form: Quatrains of iambic tetrameter with abab rhyme scheme
Lines: 36

by Jay O’Toole
on July 18th, 2023