glad tidings

Afternoon at the Chateau De Healy.
Christmas tree lights wink in the hall.
Ireland's greatest living poet thrones in an armchair reading an Ian Wilson book about the Shroud Of Turin.
Jess is lying at his feet swaying her tail.
A hamster sits at his elbow washing her face the way hamsters do with vigorous circular hand motions.
Hamsters have hands.
Perfectly crafted.
Beaky the parrot occupies the other armchair.
I'm hoping he won't get the urge to pooh in it.
He's a parrot who believes in giving in to his urges.
The Dad is pottering around in the kitchen.
Winter light blesses us from the windows.
Outside frosted fields and hedgerows stretch away towards eternity.
Creatures and the creation pause.
All existence draws breath.