In Thrall

As our treasured Earth,

Hypnotically magnetic,

Orbits our life-sustaining Sun,

We, like trillions who have gone before,

Mark our brief passage through Life.

We create momentous occasions,

Sad or joyous,

With ceremonies which, with tradition,

Become a part of our existence.

In Nature, Season follows Season -

Sometimes unpredictable.

Little did we suspect that in 2020

Our lives would be so drastically affected.

Month upon weary month

Of separation and isolation.

For many, Christmas will never be the same again.

Hopefully, treasured memories

Of past happy times together

Will help assuage the absence of loved ones.

Ironically, if we look back

To the very first Christmas,

Mary and Joseph, fearful and unwelcome

In an alien environment,

Bravely bore all the discomforts,

Worries and their uncertain future,

And brought light, hope and love

Into our troubled world,

Which in 2020 will recall -

Certainly in a different way -

The birth of their Special Son,

Still the Light of our World.

Oh for the gift of prescience -

Perhaps not!

From our resident poet