‘Twas the night before Christmas, my deadline loomed near
I promised I’d finish that novel this year
The kids were asleep and the dogs were well fed
My husband was happily snoring in bed
My laptop was working, the printer was fine
And I’d had a glass of my favorite wine
I had no excuse, no reason at all
Why rather than writing, I stared at the wall
My fingers weren’t typing, my thoughts were not flowing
I just didn’t know where my story was going
The characters wandered, lost in a haze
I had not written a word in ten days
I’m always complaining I need time to write
And here I was given my own silent night
Back in late March I was filling up pages
I guess inspiration goes through many stages
Because by mid-April and surely by May
My muse had jumped ship and swam far, far away
Then in July when we went on vacation
I left my laptop inside of Penn Station
Replacing computers does come at a cost
But more than the money, my novel was lost
I wrote down everything I could remember
I think I got most of it by mid-September
But a plumbing emergency brought on a flood
The carpets were ruined all covered with mud
Our kitten went missing, the kids got the flu
So running the house was all I could do
I did have a writing spurt on Halloween
I figured out how I could end a key scene
But all through November till now I’ve been dry
With seven days left, did I have time to try?
What was that racket? Was something outside?
I rushed to the curtains and opened them wide
There stood a bearded man all dressed in red
“Santa?” I asked with a tilt of my head
“I’ve come to help out,” he said with a grin
“Where’s your computer? Shall we begin?”
Now this was an offer I couldn’t refuse—
Having St. Nick as my personal muse
We wrote and revised, and then we wrote more
When it turned light, he left by the door
But I could hear as he flew out of sight
“Make sure your agent retains movie rights!”
I am a writer, with proof now to show it
But I’m not a novelist—I am a poet!
That piece I created with such furrowed brow?
Why, it is the poem that you’re reading right now
Read my blog, For Words: http://tanyagrove.wordpress.com/
