December
– Gary Johnson
A little girl is singing for the faithful to come ye
Joyful and triumphant, a song she loves,
And also the partridge in a pear tree
And the golden rings and the turtle doves.
In the dark streets, red lights and green and blue
Where the faithful live, some joyful, some troubled,
Enduring the cold and also the flu,
Taking the garbage out and keeping the sidewalk shoveled.
Not much triumph going on here—and yet
There is much we do not understand.
And my hopes and fears are met
In this small singer holding onto my hand.
Onward we go, faithfully, into the dark
And are there angels singing overhead? Hark.
—
For more information on Gary Johnson, please click here: http://www.amazon.com/Head-Trauma-Sonnets-Other-Poems/dp/0595403387
—
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Alison-McGhee/119862491361265?ref=ts
Alison McGhee 
Love it. I plan to keep those last two lines ringing in my head for quite some time.
LikeLike
They’re perfect, aren’t they? Someone in the know told me that “Gary Johnson” is actually Garrison Keillor. . .
LikeLike
I thought so … I have a copy of Keillor’s _77 Love Sonnets_, and many of the poems in it have appeared under the name Gary Johnson on the Writer’s Almanac site. Another clue: on the Writer’s Almanac site, poems attributed to Gary Johnson merely state “used with permission of the poet,” whereas other works give more detailed copyright and permission info.
LikeLike