'O Come All Ye Faithful' (Hopefully!)
Full of Christmas Cheer Now That Midnight's Here!
Masses At Midnight
O come all ye faithful - when the pubs close
It’s midnight mass; for the first time all year
I’ll marvel at a full congregation!
So full of people, so full of Christmas spirit.
Sorry, the church won’t be warm tonight
The heating's packed up - in my newsletter
I did mention the restoration fund has run out.
And the lead was recently nicked from the roof
So let us sincerely pray it doesn’t rain tonight.
But I am sure you all have a warm glow inside.
To turn out on such a cold night is admirable.
Once-a-year glances bounce across stony walls
As I welcome the unfamiliar faces of my parish.
A mass of midnight revellers, lurching into pews.
Money clangs on metal plates and echoes resound;
Organ reverberates and more of the faithful arrive
Venite! Venite! Come! Come! It’s the same every year...
Fumble for loose change you haven’t spent on beer.
‘It’s so good to see you all here so full of Christmas cheer!’
Whiff of Incense detracts from smell of exhaled alcohol.
Hardly singing, your feet shuffle awkwardly instead.
My faithful, why do you only mouth the words to the Latin carol?
Not exactly a Chorus Angelorum, but never mind.
You’ll stagger home, no wiser for my Christmas message.
Tonight you’ll sleep off your stupor and hopefully
Awake tomorrow, just in time for turkey dinner.
O Come All Ye Faithful
© 2015 Stella Kaye