Christmas Eve Parable and Singers, 2 poems by David Huddle

Christmas Eve Parable

Phoebe, my five-year-old granddaughter adores the tiny

wax Jesus who lies in the cradle of the creche that came

down to us from now dead great grandparents. Wise men,

Mary and Joseph, two sheep, a cow and a donkey, it sits

atop an antique chest of drawers, at the perfect height

for Phoebe to study the scene, occasionally move the humans

and the creatures as she likes, whispering softly

to them all. Two years ago Phoebe carried the Baby Jesus

in her sweaty hand all over the house until he went missing

and turned up weeks later in the covers of her bed. Phoebe

still checks in on the creche, her face joyful as she surveys

our model Bethlehem and sometimes asks one of us to sing

Silent Night with her. Off-key non-believer forgetting

the words, I can still sing that old hymn with this child.

Photo of christmas carolling figurines — Photo by Shiro Yamamoto on *Unsplash*

Singers

Ray Charles, Elvis, Hank Williams,

Nat King Cole, Frankie Lane, Little Richard–

For you guys I’ve been a fool since forever–

my truest teachers, my heroes, my party-

animal-uncles, my brothers, my father–

I wanted to take long car rides with you,

stop by creek-sides and sing the old hymns,

drink beer, hear your thoughts about the girls

in my English class, but it was you, girl-

singers, who taught me the sweet ache of love,

desire, and loss–Linda Ronstadt, Stevie

Nicks, Emmylou Harris, Joni Mitchell–oh

dear ones who do the work of angels, you’ve

changed darkness to light and sung me back to life.

David Huddle is the author of nineteen novels, short story collections, essays, and volumes of poetry, including Glory River and Blacksnake at the Family Reunion. He teaches at the Bread Loaf School of English and the Rainier Writing Workshop. His sixth novel, Hazel, and his seventh poetry collection, My Surly Heart, were published in 2019. Originally from Ivanhoe, Va., he’s lived in Vermont for more than half his life.