Thunder

Rain rushes

with a crack

a crash

and a rumble.

Clouds are heavy

and dark

with lightning's

grumble.

      It is monsoon season in the desert.  Late in the afternoon we get winds, heavy clouds and then deluges
of rain.  The roads are washed out.  In an instant, the dry creek beds fill with gushing water.  Then a short while later, it is all gone.  Many of the plants that were turning brown are now sprouting green leaves and the ridges in the Saguaro cacti are spreading as the plant takes on water to store.  What would you like to write about today?

Christmas Cracker

Sitting at my place

for Christmas dinner

is a Christmas cracker.

My sister holds one end,

I hold the other,

we both pull.

A loud P*O*P

and confetti strings

fly everywhere.

Inside is a funny 

purple paper hat

that I put on.

A paper fortune

that says I'm going

to come into money.

And a little metal

toy that makes a noise

like a cricket.  

My sister's cracker

has a pink hat

and her fortune says

she has much treasure

in her friends.

Her toy is two metal

nails that are twisted together

and she has to figure

how to separate them.

Everyone at the table

looks a little silly

with our paper crowns

and funny fortunes

and our little toys.

Christmas is

a very special 

time of year.

      Just when I was starting to slow down on ideas for Christmas poems, a friend wrote a note that reminded me of the Christmas my family spent in Oxford and all the British things we did for the holiday, like having crackers and going to the Christmas panto at a local theatre. I shouldn't forget Boxing Day either.  Oh, this is fun.  So can you write a poem about the holiday in a different culture of climate?