What I really, really want is summer,
sunbathing, sand and surf at Christmas time,
'cause the North is a bit of a bummer,
due to cold and darkness of the clime.
I love my country, nothing could be plummer,
and snow is great, this is not a whine!
but the ice and darkness get so awful deep,
when Christmas comes I only wish to sleep.
And when I sleep I dream of summer sun,
and playing by the ocean in the sand.
Australia's great, NZ another one,
or any of the "down under" lands,
I dream of visiting, the food and fun;
but dreams slip out of sleepy hands.
Awaking to a cloudy winter day,
I wish that I could go down there and stay.
When lying on the beach I can remember
the debt I owe for birth of one small child,
and bless the world of which I am a member
and pray that daily I become more mild;
but this year I'm in Kyiv since September -
and I suppose I must be reconciled
to Christmas dark and white; the January
snow is tiresome, then comes February!
MargaretG
Author notes
Photo: Canadian Embassy, Kyiv, Ukraine, staff photo
17 Dec 08 I GOT SUMMER FOR CHRISTMAS! My husband has been offered a job in Cairo, Egypt, starting next summer. Next Christmas will be sunny. 
In a list
A contest entry
- HUGUENAUTIES CONTEST NUMBER # 39 FOR MEMBERS OF HUGH WYLES FAVOURITES GROUP ONLY. by huguenauties.
750 points, ended December 20, 2008, 11 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think.
Comments
1 - 29 of 29
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Beautiful. My daughter, now married, is now in Glasgow, Scotland. She wrote me a mail the other day telling more or less the same thing about the clime there at the moment. I am sending the link of this beautiful poem to her. Thank you, Margaret!
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Thank you Venu! Best wishes for your daughter and her family in cold and blustery Scotland - indoors we have all the joy we can imagine.
All the best to you and your family. 
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I'm Just A Canadian - eh!
I'm just an old-fashioned Canadian who would not know what to do with himself if I had no snow at Christmas.
For the past few years before this year we had Black Chritmases right up until Christmas Eve and I often prayed for snow because it was just so friggin weird looking outside.
Yes, even if the screws hurt like hell in winter that keeps my chest together after open-heart surgery, there is nothing like making snow angels and Frosty the Snowman with an extra body attachment.
Just be careful of yellow snow when eating the fresh snowfall.
I hope that you pass a wondertime in Kyiv, you have an opportunity to see and experience the world that most of us never have the chance to do.
Happy season greetings to you and your family.
Gregg
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Thanks Gregg - we just came back from England, where the weather was a balmy 12C, to freezing temps and a light covering of snow. We have to make the best of it, whatever nature gives us - your rude snow angels make me smile.
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It’s strange how some of us long for snow at Christmas while others of us wish for sunshine. To me, Christmas is better with a little snow. Except for having to drive
in it. World over, I guess the weather is about half and half depending on what
hemisphere you happen to be in. Good work. Good luck in the contest.
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Thank you for your comment and applause, Linda; everyone has a preference for weather and holidays, and they are all right! Blessings to you.
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Dear Margaret,
It's a strange phenomenon that many of us in New Zealand, where Christmas day usually brings a hot, blustery nor-wester that saps everyone's energy and temper, yearn for the romance of a "White Christmas" and a cheerful fire in the hearth to drive out the cold. Half of the Christmas cards we send and receive (although I haven't had a chance to send other then E-Cards this year) depict snow, sleighs, reindeer, white trees and rooftops and so so....quite the opposite of Christmas in the Antipodes where bikini-clad girls and men in shorts gather round the barbies sipping iced drinks and trying not to get syunburned.
Love your poem, as always. A great entry.
Good luck in the voting.
Applause, keep warm! Love and hugs, XXX Hugh (R.)
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Dear Hugh,
Thanks for your great comment.
This is human nature isn't it? We want what we do not have, and cannot appreciate what is before us. We want Spring all the time, and harvest too, and let's not get into dissatisfaction with hair. 
We have invited everyone over, we could have twenty or more bringing food and sharing it. That makes a fine Christmas, whatever the weather may be.
All the best to you and Edna, hugs and blessings. M
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I can definitely relate to this!
Hi Margaret!
I'm suffering from winter doldrums (along with a bunch of other things). I, too, wish for fun in the summer sun and the warmth of summer days. I need the sun in my eyes and on my skin to fight depression, feeling cold, old and not well. I envy people who live where it's sunny and warm all year. I lived in San Diego for three months, long enough to know that it's possible to feel good most of the time (I never knew that before).
Best of Luck in the contest!
<3 Maureen
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Dear Maureen,
Winter gets into our bones, and sometimes it takes forever to get warm again - everything feels worse when we are not well. I'm wishing for you to feel like San Diego and get that goodness back in your current life. 
Thanks for your comment and applause, and good luck to your poem in the vote!
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Very lovely poem
Dear Sweetpea, it sounds dreary where you are now, I guess you would miss your own country, anyone that's away from their home would, but it's funny how we adjust and get on with living. They say we are in for a wet Christmas in Sydney, it's been cold the last few Christmas' and that's he way I like it, instead of temperatures over 100* fahrenheit too hot to do anything. Good luck in the voting my friend.
Love Joan
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Thank you Joan Memories of sunshine will have to do; we are making our own light with company and festivities. I hope you have some nice weather this year.
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I live in Phoenix, Arizona, where we seldom get even a few snowflakes... in fact they seem to be all over on the east side when it happens and I haven't seen a snowflake yet where I live on the westside. I miss the winter snow from when I lived in the Seattle area and Christmas never seems the same without it.
Your poem is a reminder, though of how welcome and nice the warm weather can be after the chills of winter in many areas.
Good luck in the contest
Dee
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We were watching TV the other night, and the story was set in Arizona, so I thought of you. The sun was brilliant and the building had an open court to let the sky in without too much sun. I wouldn't mind!
Best wishes to you for this contest, Christmas and generally!
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It's great to read your wit and charm when "Bummer" is right!
Oh how I understand your feelings conveyed here my friend, the harshness of winter with the dirty white and gray that seems to last forever. The only time I get homesick for Florida is during the winter months..It's not so much the temperture, but the brilliant colours that I miss. Thank goodness Holland is not as gray as Belgium, I'm not as stark crazy here as I was there, funny what a difference 150 kilometers to the north can be.
hehehe you've just inspired my muse, 'ode to azure blue' seems a good enough title, now if only I knew how to write an ode!
Let the ink flow!
love and blessings,
Sandi
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Winter in Europe is the dreariest I know, and on these gray days, I think back to my childhood winters among the frozen trees and blue skies of Northern Ontario. Memory must be made to work for our good.
Thank you for your words of cheer and applause, dear Sandi.
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Ah, but dreams,
waking or sleeping
can take us anywhere...
Sunny thoughts to you
to cheer your wishes!
Sucha an interesting lament, Margaret!
M-C
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Thank you M-C. I think you get sun in winter, if you are in the centre of North America - cold, cold, cold, but brilliant! Imagine not seeing the sun for months...
We must make our own cheer, with sparkling lights and friends, or flee to a sunny place.
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I sympathize, Margaret!
Although I am a night owl, and sleep in the day,
I am up to see the sunrise, to enjoy the long shadows
giving way to light! Wishing you soft lights to brighten
your long days!
M-C
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I love the snow...when it has snowed and then gotten cold and the snow crackles when you walk on it and the sun is so bright you can't open your eyes...I really miss that part of winter...do not love the sloppy black snow banks after the plow has been through and the kids needing an hour to get dressed to go 'play' and then are back in the house after 3 minutes...slopping up the foyer...so I am thinking we are never satisified...if it is cold we want it warm, if it is warm we long for cold...but loved your poem...good luck..
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I love the bright sun on snow too, and I miss it here in Europe. Fortunately Kyiv has more sunny winter days than Moscow (which has none), living there was hard. My time is short this weekend, and I will be reading your poem in a few days. Best of luck!
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"snow is tiresome, then comes February!"
It reminds me of the line from Maine humorist Tim Sample...paraphrasing,
"Maine has ten months of winter and two of rough sledding."
Even the embassy looks rather drab...and nothing says 'hello' like a nice black iron fence.
I can imagine that the weather must be rather trying...and being as pleasant as it might be...it's not home.
I don't mind the cold so much...but I hate snow and like sun. I'm sorry Margaret. Myrataal doesn't want Hitler for Chritmas...shucks, I didn't see him on sale at Walmart...
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We say that in Canada too. I don't mind the snow, it's the shovelling I don't like.
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The grass is always greener ...
on the other side! Even when it is covered by snow! My teeny weeny bit of German genes wants A WHITE CHIRSTMAS (no hitler, though!) of COLD and SNOW ... Could we perhaps exchange houses for this Christmas?
I so enjoy your poetry!
Love
Myra
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An exchange sounds wonderful, but not this Christmas! We have invited about 20 people to celebrate with us. Thank you for your company here!
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Pretty snow, Margaret
The best of both worlds sounds lovely to me, too. The first snow brings out the child in me and so does the sand and the surf and the sea. On more than one occasion, I've thought would be lovely to travel to New Zealand and Australia. Let's go soon... even if only by dream.
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Thank you Sea! Let's meet on the beach of dreams and build a castle.
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Dear Margaret,
with summer heat here in Australia I would love to see some snow and have a cool Christmas.I guess though if I lived with it for months, year after year I would get tired of it also and want to be on the beach.
A beaut poem Margaret and I wish you good luck in the voting.
Jen
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Thank you Jen! A cool pleasant Christmas would be great, or a warm one, as long as it is sunny. That is what I miss most about Canadian winters. A week or so of summer would be fantastic.
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