Things to put at the top of a Christmas Tree

A
star,
the high
note from Once in
Royal David’s City sung
by a child. A gift tag with
your favourite poem on it. A brussel
sprout sprayed in gold, a robin, a glass of
sherry your favourite great aunt used to tipple
by lunchtime, a cracker joke, What do Santa’s elves
learn in school? The elf-abet. A cuckoo clock’s tiny bird
dancing at the end of its spring, the ghost of Christmas past, the
card you forgot to write, the present that’s not going to arrive on time,
the photo of your friend who knitted you that scarf before she passed. Love,
whatever it feels like, wrapped up in a shiny purple sweet wrapper, the moment
of hush that untangles itself like last year’s lights, just when you need it, before sleep.

Olga Dermott-Bond is our Managing Editor. She loves Christmas!