‘Making Spirits Bright’ by Frank De Canio

“Jingle Bells, jingle all the way”
I sang to her to break the spell
of what appeared to be her fell
demeanor. Neither would she bray
‘in a one horse open sleigh’ “Hey!”
but droned as if to undersell
the joyous sense that all was well.
She seemed more suited for dismay
than getting into Christmas cheer
by dashing gaily through the snow.
Whatever made her looks severe,
the sole prognosis I would know
for sure was that her mocking leer
had made my frozen landscape glow.

Frank De Canio was born and bred in New Jersey, and works in New York.