S. Alice Tyack 


THIS YEAR'S CHRISTMAS CAKE

My children and their cousins crowd around a store-bought cake. 
I pry the cellophane dome from the base, 
embed a tapered dinner candle in the center. 
Excitement is high in their voices. 

Sulphur smoke swirls from a struck match. 
I lean in to light the single candle. 
The cake is for Jesus 
and their belief in His birthday. 

Chocolate frosting mounds over a sugar Santa face. 
"Happy Birthday" wraps around the edge in frosting letters. 
I hide my smile as the kids blow. 

A sharp ten inch knife slices out pieces for us all. 
 

Copyright 2000, S. Alice Tyack 
 

S. Alice Tyack studies with Rebecca Loudon and is a member of her poetry workshop. She is an avid photographer and has been working on a project in which she combines her poems with her photographs. 

Switched-on Gutenberg/Vol. 4, No. 2