Crèche

Just before Christmas

a cat curls up in the straw

of a curbside crèche.

Cat

Just before Christmas

my neighbor’s calico cat

takes her final nap.

window-shopping spree

during after-Christmas sales—

my empty wallet

Christmas afternoon—

a cold wind from the northwest

makes the juncos flinch.

two days till Christmas—

across the snowy terrace

a frigid wind blows

too close to Christmas

to get over my sore throat—

croaking out carols

days before Christmas

my wallet is emptier

than a drought-year stream