No Escaping From Tradition (Poetry)

The rain came tap-tap-tapping on the window panes last night
and the wind came rap-rap-rapping on my door
the crafty cold came creeping through each crack in these old walls
then it rolled like freezing waves across the floor

Winter has invited all its dreary cousins round
like unwelcome guests I so-wish wouldn’t stay
but much prefer they’d nod in passing while en route to somewhere else
I would be very glad to see them on their way

Instead they hang about despite the sighing and the moans
and the broadest hint seems absolutely lost
gloomy skies are far from welcome and dark mornings are the worst
and there’s no one wants a visit from Jack Frost

It’s so hard remaining cheerful when surrounded by this crowd
they would try the patience of a saint no doubt
so next year as the seasons change and Winter heads this way
he might arrive to find he’s missed me — and I’m out!

It seems to me migrating geese have got the right idea
like relocation to a much more pleasant spot
where the weather is reliable, the wind’s a balmy breeze
and rain refreshes any day that grows too hot

Then back home again in readiness for Spring to come awake
an event that surely no one aims to miss
but Christmas lunch on some verandah, then a stroll along the beach
becomes the biggest sticking point in all of this

Though it may be true those retro scenes on snowy greetings cards
rarely now reflect the modern Christmas day
each so-quaint iconic image is impossible to shake
as we contemplate how time has slipped away

So, although the rain comes tapping, plus the bitter north wind’s rapping
we will brace ourselves against each gust and squall
while our memories we’ll gather in a bubble of bright weather
and nostalgia’s dream counts snowflakes as they fall