Christmas Cake
November or early December is the time
to start on this year’s Christmas cake
Pour several cups of sweet anticipation into a large bowl
– the first snowfall when we hauled out the Christmas records
– all the dolls in the Sear’s catalogue
– paint smells from the basement
cut in a pound of cold reality
– the year I worked nights and slept through
– the first Christmas without Daddy
– the one I broke my wrist
and cream these two ingredients
When blended and smooth
stir in – 1 cup at a time
the plans, ideas, long wish lists,
credit cards and shopping trips,
decorating, light’s a’blinking,
CDs spinning, here we come a-caroling —
keep on stirring
Fold in the surprises next
– a perfect tiny poinsettia for the coffee table
– a leisurely lunch on the Starlight Dinner Train
– room on a standby flight Christmas Eve
Finally toss in
– a teaspoon of worry (surely I’ve forgotten something)
– and a pinch of pride (the house glows by candlelight
while we sip our eggnog Christmas Eve)
Give it the final flourish
– signed! the last (late) card of the season
and bake in a turkey-fragrant oven.
You know it’s done
when the last chocolate is eaten
all the tinsel is vacuumed
and the house is New Year tidy once more.
(Guaranteed to never turn out the same)
Copyright 2004 – Violet Nesdoly
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This poem was first published 2004 in A Night Not to be Silent – A Literary Christmas Greeting, put together by Darlene Moore Berg for the poets at Utmost Christian Writers. I first published it on this blog in December of 2010; today it’s appearing again as a re-post.
It’s linked to Poetry Friday, hosted today by Tara at A Teaching Life.
Violet Nesdoly 
Love it, Violet! Perfect ending 🙂
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Wonderful poem, Violet — I envy that lunch on the Starlight Dinner Train! So many great, relatable images. Thanks for the delicious and delightful Christmas Cake!
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Violet, I love the flow of this poem that has a different format with a great punch line. Yummy word weaving!
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Your poem describes all the ‘ingredients’ of Christmas, Violet, and seeing them listed like this points out to me how busy we’ve let this season become! I love the last line disclaimer! Sending wishes for a blessed Christmas.
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Wonderful, Violet, every single bit. But I really love that “keep on stirring”. It’s what we do isn’t it? Happy Christmas to you and yours!
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Violet, I’m wondering about the ingredients you’d use to make your own Christmas Cake poem. Thanks for the re-post.
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Joy, I’m not sure what you mean. These are the ingredients for my own Christmas Cake poem, though 11 years after writing, I don’t send quite as many cards via snail mail. But I do still spin CDs take delight in just the right poinsettia, cook a turkey and eat chocolates. So not all that much has changed. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas in your new Hawaii home!
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Thanks for your lovely comments, all. I wish every one of you a blessed Christmas, as full of richness and surprises as edible Christmas cake!
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I am just getting around today…mega busy and it isn’t even all Christmas stuff!
Great recipe, and I’m glad that you remembered to add the “pound of cold reality”! That is the stuff of Christmas memories!
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I love this recipe!
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Thank you for sharing your “old” poem–ever new, because as you said in the last line (Guaranteed never to turn out the same.)..Just what the poetry-baker ordered!
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