Christmas in Sarasota
By Don McLagan
It’s not Currier & Ives here. The set sun
silhouettes palms and fishermen
with their evening nets. The reflection
of Christmas wrinkles warm on the bay.
No doubt local kids find nothing amiss
and nestle all snug in their beds. But
gathering on the aft deck of a boat moored
at Marina Jack, the night feels askew.
Colored lights seem gaudy on palm trees,
holly out of place on lanais. Here, snowy
is just an adjective for egret. Tonight
snow, sleighs, and Yule logs are distant.
But tomorrow, untethered by place,
the bustle of calls and cards, family,
and good smells from the kitchen
will be welcome in our Sarasota home.
Don McLagan is an entrepreneur and poet who lives and writes on Chappaquiddick and in Sarasota, Fla.
