Cut the fruitcake, pour the sherry.
Christmas comes, and it is very
Queer and sweet that every nation
Will pursue a celebration
While the world is breaking under
Such a blast of human thunder.
Still, beyond the widest oceans
Dogged folk go through the motions
That for one brief tinselled minute
Make a world with beauty in it.
Beneath the palm, beyond the snow,
Peace must come, we need it so.
And out in space it’s right to try
To see the reindeer ride the sky.
Artwork courtesy of the DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun Museum, Tucson, which is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, please visit degrazia.org.