An Island Christmas Poem
Twas the night before Christmas
and all around
No noses were frozen, no snow
fluttered down.
No children in flannels were
tucked into bed.
They all wore their shorty
pajamas instead!
To find wreaths of holly was
not very hard,
For holly trees grow ferociously
in everyone’s yard.
In front of the houses were
daddies and moms
adorning the mangroves
and coconut palms.
The slumbering kiddies were
dreaming in glee
And hoped they’d find water skis
under the tree.
They all knew that Santa was
well on his way,
driving a boat instead of a sleigh.
Soon he arrived and started to work,
he hadn’t a moment to linger or shirk.
He whizzed down the Intracoastal
and up each lagoon,
delivering his presents and not
a moment too soon.
The tropical moon gave the
island a glow,
and lighted the way for Santa below.
As he jumped from his boat
and gave a quick smile,
he was dressed in his Jams and
looked quite in style.
He stopped at each house,
staying only a minute
and emptied his sack of all the
goodies that were in it.
Before he departed he treated
himself to a glass of
papaya juice left on the shelf.
Then he turned with a jerk and
bounced back to the boat,
hoping, of course, it would
still be afloat.
He switched on the running lights,
gave it some gas
and down the waterway he streaked,
headed for the Pass.
And I heard him exclaim as he
went on his way …
“Merry Christmas, dear island –
I wish I could stay!”
– Anne Merry
Originally printed in the December 16, 1988 edition of the Boca Beacon
