Christmas Card
You have anti-freeze in the car, yes, But the shivering stars wade deeper. Your scarf’s tucked in under your buttons, But a dry snow ticks through the stubble. Your knee-boots gleam in the fashion, But the moon must stay And stamp and cry As the holly the holly Hots its reds. Electric blanket to comfort your bedtime The rover no longer feels its stones. Your windows are steamed by dumpling laughter The snowplough’s buried on the drifted moor. Carols shake your television And nothing moved on the road but the wind Hither and thither The wind and three Starving sheep. Redwings from Norway rattle at the clouds But comfortless sneezers puddle in pubs. The robin looks in at the kitchen window But all care huddles to hearths and kettles. The sun lobs one wet snowball feebly Grim and blue The dusk of the coombe And the swamp woodland Sinks with the wren. See old lips go purple and old brows go paler. The stiff crow drops in the midnight silence. Sneezes grow coughs and coughs grow painful. The vixen yells in the midnight garden. You wake with the shakes and watch your breathing Smoke in the moonlight – silent, silent. Your anklebone And your anklebone Lie big in the red.
Christmas Card - meaning Summary
Comfort Against Winter's Threat
The poem contrasts domestic Christmas comforts with a hostile winter landscape. Cars, blankets, television, and warm kitchens create a sense of protection, while animals, travellers, and the natural world endure cold, hunger, and isolation outside. This separation gradually breaks down as illness and fear enter the home. Its grim final image suggests that seasonal celebration cannot fully hide the body’s vulnerability to weather, mortality, and violence.
Feel free to be first to leave comment.