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 to complete
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 is published in over thirty countries. He has more than 1400 poems printed or posted in literary venues around the world. Wrappings in Bespoke is joint-winner of Full Fat Collection Competition-Deux organized by the Hedgehog Poetry Press UK. It’s his fourth book. It will be launched in early 2021. Recent credits: NOON | journal of the short poem, The Big Windows Review, Life and Legends, Pomona Valley Review, Lummox Poetry Anthology # 9, Dreich Magazine, and elsewhere. He lives in Mumbai, India.