By Nolcha Fox
PROMPT — Joy is ...
In miniature the world
is perfect, once a year
at Christmas time.
The train runs round
the Christmas tree,
never going off the tracks.
the plastic cattle on green felt
are never brought to slaughter.
The army men that guard the station
never have to go to war.
In the snow globe
skaters glide on ice
that never shatters.
Violence only
causes weather,
a storm that coats
the town with glitter.
Real life does not circle beauty,
Christmas lights take out the circuits,
Trains run late, they crash and jump.
Life is not contained in crystal,
skaters fall through ice and die,
violence causes more than bruises,
glitter doesn’t fall from skies.
How do I make
the miniature real,
and make it last all year?
Nolcha Fox has written all her life, starting with poop and crayons on the walls. Her poems have been published in Lothlorien Poetry Journal, The Red Lemon Review, Dark Entries, Duck Head Journal, Medusa’s Kitchen, and others. She is the author of the chapbook, My Father’s Ghost Hates Cats: Poetry for Stumbling Through Life. Nolcha writes from Buffalo, WY.