There was that warm
fall palette moving from tree to table
hors d’oeuvres, crudite’, chips and dip
shrimp & cocktail sauce, almond mix.

The parade
the dog show
traditional meal, closeness of kin
Miracle on 34th Street
It’s a Wonderful Life.

Snoozy, snuggly, blankety love
drowsy joy on the Victorian couch.
Strong happy sleep–
and then, like “night fell” in Looney Tunes:
a warmer than usual Friday
a profusion, confusion, collusion of lights
exploding across the street.
Caffeinated motion, crazy fast decorating
as if Christmas were on a deadline.

Wrapped in Thanksgiving, deboning the turkey
making soup, pie for breakfast, pumpkin coffee.
We left the harvest orange up, the pilgrims and indians
peacefully coexisting on the front door, pumpkins sparking
in the front bay.

The stained glass window proclaiming the day
all year long.
We are the richest family in town.

Linda Trott Dickman is an energetic, enthusiastic poet and poetry teacher on her native Long Island. She is published widely and locally, has several books to her credit, the most recent of which is The Librarian, a Life in Picture Books. Linda facilitates Northport Art Coalition’s Poets in Port and was instrumental in the creation of The Poetry Path in Northport Village Park.