Yesterday’s white mantel
is today slush shackling
the dusk-hour flow
Six days till Christmas
things to do
no time for this
or to see
what’s out the window
to the left
Traffic halts abruptly
in both directions
Whatever the cause
it won’t do, and presently
comes into view
A trio of geese
waddling and wide
crossing in single file
with the haste of
Teamsters eligible for pension
The train’s caboose
the most insouciant of the three
knows exactly what
he’s doing to me
my aggravation obviously
his pleasure
Hand to horn,
about to blast him down-less
I begin to laugh instead
as he stops for one last gesture
a foot shaken in webbed defiance
Looking up I see
newborn smiles
on every driver in the scene
traffic rivals, now suddenly
partners in a gleeful secret
As we roll ahead
Christmas lights come on
or maybe have been
all along
And out the window
to my left the sight
earlier forsaken
Gulls that glide in silhouette
A polished pewter sea
The horizon and its treasure
of infinity
timkelleher.org 