Yuletide
written by: Sanjeev Sethi
Christmas is marked by a scarlet covering under
which mother lay in this or that army hospital
cinched by father’s posting. These were my pre-
and postpuberty days.
Sight of an ungainly schoolboy must have stirred
assorted principal matron’s instincts as invariably
I was primed as Santa with that blessed geranium
blanket as gear.
Cotton wool from the ward aided me in completing
my Kriss Kringle look. I was handed over a speech.
Customarily, the last line was to call upon the senior-
most officer’s wife to meet me under the mistletoe.
Sanjeev Sethi has authored seven books of poetry. His latest is Wrappings in Bespoke (The Hedgehog Poetry Press, UK, August 2022). He has been published in over thirty countries. His poems have found a home in more than 400 journals, anthologies, and online literary venues. He edited Dreich Planet #1, an anthology of Indian poets for Hybriddreich, Scotland, in December 2022. He is the recipient of the Ethos Literary Award 2022. He is the joint winner of the Full Fat Collection Competition-Deux, organized by Hedgehog Poetry Press, UK. In 2023, he won the First Prize in a Poetry Competition by the prestigious National Defence Academy, Pune, during its 75th anniversary in the “family members category.” He lives in Mumbai, India.
Latest posts by Sanjeev Sethi (see all)
- Yuletide - December 21, 2023
- Position - May 9, 2018
- Epeisodion - March 2, 2018
