Derrick Buttress
Christmas in Saint Augustines
Concocted by an ancient Miss
with a faint moustache and a shout
that made the building catch its breath,
the annual jellies wobbling on our desks
tasted like every christmas we had known.
As we spooned our way towards the holiday,
light faded into sparkling dusk,
surprising snow began to purl
against the school’s cold glass
then melt and slip towards the sills.
After the party and the presents
from the teacher with a stuck-on beard,
we slid across the playground
to search in darkness
for reindeer hoof prints in the snow,
wanting to believe that in the din
of traffic in the street we could hear
harness bells, jingling on the freezing air.
Page(s) 42
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