Amish Christmas Wishes

 

Amish Christmas Wishes

If, for Christmas, I got a sleigh

And a couple of fancy mares,

We’d high-step through the snowdrifts

To share these thoughts and cares.

I’d hang their britches with sleigh bells,

Tie yellow ribbons in their manes

With red ones in their forelocks

And polished brass upon the hames.

Blue bows would adorn their fetlocks,

Silver studs ‘round nose and brow

And an old buffalo robe would warm me

Down the road from where I’m now.

We’d pull up to your doorstep

And I’d gently put you in the sleigh,

Tucking the warm robe around you

Before merrily slipping away. 

Down the snowy roads we’d travel

Between fences under fallen flake

Laughing at the weather

And every turn that we take.

But, alas, in the snow there is no letup,

And I have neither sleigh nor mare

No robe to warm me down the road

No way from here to there.

Except for these driving lines

Penned on a snowy Christmas Day

To pass the time and distance

Between you and me, and a sleigh….

by

James N. Zitzelsberger

© 2018

Around-About Christmas

 Around-About Christmas

Santa had a little time

With Christmas days away,

So he thought he’d take the reindeer out

And hitched them to his sleigh.

A practice jaunt across the sky,

With a few turns around a town,

Would help him get the bugs worked out

So he’d let nobody down.

He cracked his whip and away they flew

With Rudolf in the lead,

Across the far-flung heavens

At a tremendous flashing speed.

But with a wishful tug he reined them in

And slowed them to a trot

With his eyes on a round-about

For which he’d heard a lot.

His rig and all was a wee bit long,

Which made the turn a little tight,

And when he whistled for the deer to go,

A car cut him off on the right!

Rudolf came to a screeching halt,

With eight reindeer piled behind,

As a window dropped and a hand shot out 

With a piece of the driver’s mind!

But Santa simply let it slide

And made his turn at last—

Never mind all the honking horns

Or shouts as drivers passed!

No, he made it around, slow and safe,

The way he’d heard it should be done,

And as they flew back to the barn

They did some loops for fun.

But when they landed, he called to an Elf

To bring out the list of “Naughty or Nice”

And to run the plate from the ‘round-about—

If need be, run it twice!

By

James N. Zitzelsberger

© 2018