Christmas Down Under

Winter no longer bites
in this southern land I now call home

where the seasons are reversed and
there is no mistletoe

under which to kiss a Christmas greeting
to a December darling,

however fleeting;
no frost fangs hidden by lips roughed in rouge.

Holly does not stab like a pang of guilt
while a white blanket covers the ground

coaxing the land to sleep.
Instead, the seasons here are turned on their head.

In December there is no ice to fear.
Lay back on the grass, gaze up at the big

cerulean beaut of the Australian sky
whilst savouring a festive mince pie.

Thongs, or flip flops, have replaced gum boots
Shorts are de rigueur…

and for Christmas jumpers, nobody cares.
Prawns are added, to the traditional roast and ham,

and its cold beer here to toast the festive cheer.
In the heat I’ll look up at that big Aussie blue,

squint into the brightness, with my Christmas cake,
and imagine, just for a moment, the kiss of a snowflake.

Warren Paul Glover is a screenwriter, playwright, poet and actor living in Sydney. Born in England, he holds a BA Hons in Sociology and worked in research and policy for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and Royal College of Nursing in London for a number of years, before his move to Scotland to take a Masters in Global Health and Public Policy at Edinburgh University. Pre term, he also took some short courses in poetry, fiction and screenwriting, to the extent that he deferred his Masters to concentrate on writing full-time. Moving to Sydney in 2010, a course in playwriting at the Griffin Theatre Company has been followed by plays performed in Australia, the UK and US. Most recently his poetry has appeared in the UK’s ‘Poetry24’ and ‘Sentinel Literary Quarterly’ and, in the US, in ‘Please See Me’, all online.

Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to [email protected]. Submissions should be in the body of the email, not as attachments. A poetry book will be awarded to each accepted contributor.