[Rhodes22-list] 'Twas the night before Christmas

[R22RumRunner at aol.com]

'Twas the night before Christmas, and far out at sea
Our vessel was  sailing, as smooth as could be

The stockings were hung from the balcony  chairs
With hope that St. Nicholas soon would be there

The children  were nestled all snug in their uppers
Having just settled down from a  Christmas Eve supper

And ma and myself, we were covered in aloe
A bit  too much sun, in a pool, warm and shallow

When up in the sky, there arose  such a clatter
I leapt from my bed to see what was the matter

To the  sliding glass door, I flew like a flash
Well, more like a saunter, and less  like a dash

And what to my skeptical eyes should appear
But a great  shiny sleigh, and eight flying reindeer

They circled our ship, from  starboard to port
As the moon lit the driver, a jolly old sort

Who  called to his team, in a happy retort
"Now Dasher, now Dancer," so on and so  forth

We raced through our cabin and into the hall
To the very top  deck, in time for us all

To be awed by the sight of Old Santa's  sleigh
As he lightly touched down, by the midnight buffet

With a  bundle of goodies thrown over his back
He rose in the air and dropped down  the smokestack

Santa went straight to work, and later we learned
He  found every child's cabin, from the bow to the stern

Insides and  oceanviews, balconies and suites
Santa filled every stocking, with toys and  with treats

Until all his deliveries had been handled with care
Then  he noted he still had a minute to spare

So he surfed the wave rider, with  nary a fall
While Dasher and Dancer scaled the rock-climbing wall

And  Prancer, who had always been fond of the cold
Tried the ice-skating rink, a  sight to behold

And then with a whistle, Santa summoned his team
And  he bade us farewell, silent nights and sweet dreams

And I heard him  exclaim, as he flew out of view
Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good  cruise.


Written by Alan Fox, with appreciation and apologies to  Clement Clarke 
Moore, author of 'Twas the Night Before  Christmas.