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Here we are mid-December and those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are stuck in cold, dark days with the winter solstice not far away. Some of us light candles for Advent or at the coming Hanukkah. Some sing carols or send cards with the Christmas Nativity or other seasonal tableaux, depending on where in the world you live.

Antonella Anedda’s “December” poem sets the scene for us Northerners:

“December, not yet Christmas, or Hanukkah. 
Only a few lights lit in the streets, 
no sleigh drawn by reindeer in shop windows. 
Instead of snow, a dark pouring rain 
to dodge as passersby reject us. 
No spruces, but sycamores with their white cankers. 
It may be surprising not to link all of this to darkness, 
emptiness, fear...[more]

And today being the 11th December it is the anniversary of Jim Harrison’s birth and he too entered the spirit of the season in his inimitable wry style with “Xmas Cheeseburgers”: 

“I was without Christmas spirit 
so I made three cow dogs, 
Lola and Blacky and Pinto, 
cheeseburgers with ground chuck 
and French St. André cheese 
so that we’d all feel better…. 
The world that used to nurse us 
now keeps shouting inane instructions. 
That’s why I ran to the woods”

In her long titled, four part poem “They that dally nicely with words may quickly make them wanton”, Ange Mlink begins with a solid, static scene:

“Should I take this time, while the children are in school, 
to untrim the tree? Standing in the dish we let go dry, 
it looks well-preserved, as if Christmas were still 
in our future; would it spare their feelings if I dismantle 
piece by piece its grandeur, or will I amplify 
their sense of loss, to de-jewel it without ritual?...[more]

And now we come to the prompt for composing a poem in the manner of a tableau: i.e. “a carefully composed scene in which characters are arranged for a picturesque effect, acting entirely oblivious to the viewer.”

And our tableau has a fixed poetry style entitled The Tableau – created by Emily Romano in October of 2008

Poetry Style:

  • 1 or more verses
  • 6 lines per verse
  • 5 beats/syllables per line

Poetry Rules:

  • title should contain the word ‘tableau’
  • poem should aim to be pictorial
  • no rhyme scheme

Extra points for creating a static Tableau scene as seasonal December or Nativity

N.B. I’m revisiting this prompt that we did 5.9.24.
My own contribution as example is here

Once you have written and posted your poem, according to the guidelines above, do add it to Mr Linky below then go visiting and reading other contributors as that is half the fun of our dVerse gatherings.
Please also TAG dVerse in your post, or include a link at the end of your poem that leads readers back to this dVerse prompt

[N.B. Mr Linky closes Saturday 3 p.m. EST]