Word Play

Seldom do snowflakes slip down our cheeks

nor icicles, rigid and clear, dangle from our eves.

But long, winter shadows don our hallways,

bending with late sunshine or moonbeam glaze

the figures we all recognize as each other.

Each silhouette, advancing in from the lot

or retreating to find its way to an evening

of rest, burdened or buoyed by the youth

that we serve, lifts my holiday spirit

and graces my work day like the perfectly-

piped, royal icing on the gingerbread house

of my childhood. No trinket can say

what only deeds can prove–I couldn’t

imagine working here without you.

May festive holidays and peaceful sleep usher

out the old and bring you joy in the New Year.