The Vintage Carolers The vintage carolers never make a sound Lit from within they’re sentries who always stand their ground A boy & girl blissful & permanently gowned The vintage carolers Stationed at the door a Christmas wreath defends Of molded plastic made, with hymn books in their hands Eternal harmonizers & probably just friends The vintage carolers Outside, as ice mandalas spread tiny webs on glass The vintage carolers are silent as we pass Stamping snow from boots acquainted more or less With a world turned crystalline The vintage carolers don’t mind The true-life carolers have gathered to rehearse The carols that a week ago sounded slightly worse Echoing off church walls as chorus battled verse The true-life carolers Unlike the child-sized duo, they actually sing Performances unplugged, their voices taking wing They radiate no light except the songs they bring The true-life carolers Inside, the smell of wassail & cinnamon collects To break the spell of darkness everyone expects Despite the twinkling colors December resurrects Every year in snow or shine The vintage carolers don’t mind & if the attic is their lair 11 months a year The vintage carolers don’t mind By morning star or midnight clear The vintage carolers resist the tides of time Faded paint jobs peeling, mouths frozen out of rhyme Old friends we drag out once a year, each silent as a mime The vintage carolers Touched by the twinkling colors everyone expects The vintage carolers shine their light while snow collects In a world turned crystalline The vintage carolers are fine & though their colors fade like the snows of yesteryear They’re strangely durable, you’ll find Though it isn’t them you’ll hear No, it isn't them you'll hear It isn't them we hear Surely it isn’t them we hear?

All Their Kin & Kind Would you believe On Christmas Eve the bees Retreat to hives & hum a hymn of peace Collectively Wiser by far than we are Sidling up to bonfires as we freeze The beasts of prey & burden felt uncertain When their trusted envoys brought the news The stable’s glow Rough shelter from the snow Bestowed the voices beasts would never choose Would you believe On Christmas Eve the beasts & all their kin acquire the power to speak What will they say That briefest midnight hour Before that gift of language slips away A lad & lass Sentenced to midnight mass Lock eyes beyond the congregation’s view What more will pass When, star-crossed, they’re divided Just as time divided me from you A bed of straw The lad awakes in awe The ox confiding sad complaints close by & that’s not all Beyond his humble stall Once every century Tall druid stones break free To quench their boundless thirst down by the sea Do you believe On Christmas Eve the birds & beasts Who watch in silence start to speak What would you say That briefest midnight hour Before the gift of language fades away Wild at heart The tabby plays her part Peace-loving party to a Christmas truce As for the mice Who trekked through snow & ice What else besides her friendship could they lose? Some say the doves Perched on a beam above Cooed all night long & calmed the child to sleep Maybe it’s true How well would you or I do Bearing secrets we could never keep Should we believe On Christmas Eve the beasts & all their kin acquire the power to speak What will they say That briefest midnight hour Before that gift of language slips away & to this day All things that fly or swim or crawl or bray Acquire the power to say What’s on their mind That briefest midnight hour Before the gift of language leaves their kind