None of These Things

No sleigh rides for Barbados

We don’t have any snow,

No holly and the ivy

That too is a no show.

No Santa Claus white suit

Coming down no chimney,

How it doesn’t turn black

Is still a mystery.

No Santa reindeer

And no Rudolph’s red nose,

May be a donkey ride

That is as far as it goes.

No standing under mistletoe

To await a kiss,

And Santa kissing my wife

Would be taking a risk.

Yes, Christmas is coming

But no goose is getting fat

And we don’t have any penny

To put in anybody’s hat.

For since pennies disappeared

So have the cents,

And the only pence we have now

Is recompense.

No chestnuts roasting

On any open fire

Though at another time and place

We might have burnt a tyre.

However, given the danger

That this poses these days,

It would be better

To keep such fires at bay.

No white Christmas

Unless it is with white lime

And that used to be long ago

In another time.

No jingle bells or sleigh bells

As in the songs we sing,

No babe in a manger anymore

But good tidings still we bring.

Tidings of great joy

And goodwill to man

As we celebrate the fact

Of God’s redemptive plan.

No more hopelessness

For In Christ we have hope,

No more disillusionment

In this life we can cope.

We look forward to Christmas

With none of these things,

But we have the Christ of Christmas

And the joy that he brings.

Every day is Christmas

Once Christ lives in our heart,

If you are yet to know him

I suggest you make a start.

Invite him in right now

And Christmas will be every day,

For once he comes into a heart

He'll always be there to stay.

Stewart Russell © November 2019