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| © Barbara Leonhard |
That Crazy Old Lady
still has her Christmas tree up!
Indeed! Been three years now.
The LED lights haven’t failed to sparkle
at passersby walking their dogs
and children playing in the park.
The few music students continuing
since COVID struck
blink several times
as they arrive weekly for lessons
to see the tree still waiting
for more Bluegrass tunes.
The bluebird pecking
at the picture window each spring -
Does it want to nest
in the tree’s brilliant branches
alongside the crystalline angels
and shimmering orbs
on artificial branches?
My tree, fake news? Hardly.
As my gaze rests there,
I’m spared headlines of disease,
mass shootings, bombs marked
“For the Children”, the inflictions
of ‘isms’, the forays of fear.
My Christmas tree,
determined to stand
until kindness and forgiveness
light up this world again.
This poem appeared in Paddler Press’ volume “Grace Notes”.
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| Barbara Harris Leonhard |
Barbara Harris Leonhard is the author of Three-Penny Memories: A Poetic Memoir (2022) and The Lost Book of Zeroth (2025). She is the co-author of Too Much Fun to Be Legal (2024) and Broken Rengay: Unruly Poetry (2025). She’s a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee. Trending Poets named her Poet of the Year in 2023 and 2024. Her poetry has been translated into Italian, Albanian, and Chinese. She is the Editor for MasticadoresUSA and FEED THE HOLY. Her blog is Extraordinary Sunshine Weaver.
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