A Christmas Poem from Singapore (with apologies to Clement C. Moore)

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Twas the week before Christmas, and all through the stores,

Singaporeans flocked, surging the doors,

While malls are jammed every month of the year,

It’s Christmas where retail is specially dear.

In the tropics, you know, it’s hot, damp and green,

Not an icicle or snowflake is normally seen.

But they pull out the stops at the Yuletide grows near

With a serious dedication to creating that cheer.

Orchard Road, for example, is brilliantly lit,

With gigantic decorations and electrical kit.

24 hours a day, it’s a fantasy place

So bring and so twinkly, you can see it from space.

Girls dressed as Santa, in minis – so pretty

Have invaded the streets and taken the city.

And snow globes so big, for a dollar or two,

You enter inside – and a snowstorm ensues.

It’s funny, these icons that come from cold climes,

And how they’re interpreted – on occasion, sublime.

But Christmas is more than a man with a sack;

The end of the year is a time to look back.

Like most, I suppose, it’s been good, sometimes tough -

With travels and friends and professional stuff.

All grist for the mill, the highs and the low

Twelve months just flew by; where the hell did it go?

If you’re managed to read through my short little ditty,

You are a true friend, as this poem’s a pity!

But aside from my stories and the occasional bad rhyme,

It brings you my love for a great Christmastime.

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