“An Eleventh Pretender by Stewart Stafford

Pardon me, thou art king
Of paling November’s hedgerow,
Demanding fealty from December,
That crowns the year, and justly so.

I hear thy shrill trumpets blow,
They shake my windows so.
None shun the stepping stone.
To Christmas feasting’s glow.

Thou host saints and souls indeed,
Commemorate foiled plots.
Martinmas turns harvest to winter,
And mirth at Guildhall spots.

Thou art an impostor yet
in the Western world, or here.
Blow hence, ninth month of Rome,
Paucity’s envy of double-digit's year.

© Stewart Stafford, 2023. All rights reserved.”