20 Dec ‘Twas the Night Before the Christmas Party
‘Twas the night before the Christmas party and all through Serere (pronounced Sararay)
Not a creature was stirring which made me quite wary
The laundry was hung on the thatched roof with care
In hopes that Mama Laurie soon would be there (January)
The children were nestled, snug, under their nets
While dreaming of the feast they soon would get
The Mamas in their Gomasi (pronounced go-moss) and Sam on his chair
Had just settled down for an evening of prayer
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When out in the center there arose such a clatter
I sprang from my mattress to see what was the matter
Away to the entrance I flew to see more
Tore open the lock and opened the door
The moon on the thatched roof gave quite a glow
A lustre of mid-day to gardens below
When, what to my wondering eyes did appear
A mountain of foot lockers to hold all their gear
With a little old truck driver, lively and quick
Bringing blessings to children, just like St. Nick
More rapid than eagles the staff members came
And he whistled and shouted and called them by name
“Now, David! Now, Scovia! Now Susan, Sam and Rose
On Rachel! On, SP! On Catherine and those!
To the project site, and inside the fence
Take all these gifts, place them under the tents”
As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly
Was the mood of the workers: a wonderful high
So onto the project site the staff members flew
With a truck full of water drums and t-shirts, too
And then in a twinkling I heard on the roof
The banging of raindrops. Oops! Did they goof?
As I covered my head and was turning around
Topher the strong guard came with a bound
He was dressed in all blue from his head to his toes
To scare off the thugs in security guard clothes
A bundle of firewood he held like a beast
To give to the cooks to prepare their big feast
His eyes-how they twinkled when he saw all the staff
And because of the rain, they all started to laugh
The gifts were a blessing, the food was a treat
They envisioned the kids as they started to eat
The cooks laid a fire with embers beneath
And the smoke it encircled their heads like a wreath
They soaked the fresh beans and cut up the meat
They shook when they laughed around the fire’s heat
The potatoes were plump, the chicken was plucked
The rice was all measured and the corn was shucked
A wink of cook’s eye and a twist of her head
Soon gave me to know the kids all would be fed
They spoke not a word, but went straight to their work
And laid out the presents then turned with a jerk
And imagining the kids, they were all filled with glee
For they each knew the joy that tomorrow would be
They sprang to their ‘cycles, and shared a “well done”
And away they all flew racing the sun
But I heard them exclaim ere they drove out of sight
“Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!”
A special THANKS to one of our sponsors, Marcy Vigren, for leading this collaborative effort in poetry!
She will be helping us share with you more about life in Serere through stories in 2017!
And again, THANK YOU to all of our Sponsors and Village Partners for making this holiday season
so special for theVillage2Village Project children! This is all made possible because of YOU!
MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
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