The Eve of Goodness and Might

By Luisa Kay Reyes

Whether commissioned by a committee
 To celebrate a Christmas in the City
 The German carol “O Christmas Tree”
 Can be sung from Berlin to the South China Sea.

 While the hills may seem out of reach
 When celebrating Christmas at the beach
 The spiritual “Go, Tell It On The Mountains”
 Is hummed while throwing pennies in the fountains.

 And a Country Christmas is never complete
 Without some pies that are tasty and sweet
 For the upbeat Welsh tune “Deck the Hall”
 Is pleasant for feasting right before nightfall.

 With scarves and some muffs in some horse-drawn sleighs
 A Victorian Christmas cures one’s malaise
 As the Sussex air “On Christmas Night”
 Lingers softly amidst the candlelight.

 Caring compassion for the infirm and destitute
 During a Dickens Christmas is far from moot
 Making generosity alive and well
 Throughout the French tune “The First Noel”.

 The eve, The Light and The Way were unfurled
 Is hailed by Handel in “Joy to the World”
 And reflecting upon the Austrian strains of “Silent Night”
 The universe is filled with Christ’s goodness and might.

Luisa Kay Reyes has had pieces featured in “The Raven Chronicles”, “The Windmill”, “The Foliate Oak”, “The Eastern Iowa Review”, and other literary magazines. Her essay, “Thank You”, is the winner of the April 2017 memoir contest of “The Dead Mule School Of Southern Literature”. And her Christmas poem was a first place winner in the 16th Annual Stark County District Library Poetry Contest. Additionally, her essay “My Border Crossing” received a Pushcart Prize nomination from the Port Yonder Press. And two of her essays have been nominated for the “Best of the Net” anthology. With one of her essays recently being featured on “The Dirty Spoon” radio hour.