Poem for Monday and Warm Sunday

The Winter Jasmine Fairy
By Cicely Mary Barker

All through the Summer my leaves were green,
But never a flower of mine was seen;
Now Summer is gone, that was so gay,
And my little green leaves are shed away.
In the grey of the year
What cheer, what cheer?

The Winter is come, the cold winds blow;
I shall feel the frost and the drifting snow;
But the sun can shine in December too,
And this is the time of my gift to you.
See here, see here,
My flowers appear!

The swallows have flown beyond the sea,
But friendly Robin, he stays with me;
And little Tom-Tit, so busy and small,
Hops where the jasmine is thick on the wall;
And we say: “Good cheer!
We’re here! We’re here!”

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The weather was as unseasonably warm on Sunday as it has been for the past few days. We had a quiet morning while son went for a walk with one of his oldest friends, who was visiting the neighborhood, then we had chocolate chip waffles with eggs and went for a walk along the canal. There were many turtles despite it being December, plus many ducks, and we saw winter jasmine and an apricot blossom tree blooming in our neighborhood on the way. 

We stopped at my parents' house so they and son could say hello to each other at opposite ends of their driveway, then we came home and son visited a friend on his deck while made Swedish meatballs, rye bread, and lingonberries for St. Lucia's Day, the festival of lights in Scandinavia. Son had not seen the last two episodes of The Mandalorian, so we watched those after we lit the menorah while we had leftover birthday cake for dessert.