December 1

  This is really more a Beautiful Night...



The brief day fades, in the…hearth
A fire is burning once again
…in front of it I read
Or lose myself to lengthy spells of thought.

And I forget the world, and in sweet peace
I am sweetly lulled by imagination;
And now the muse of poetry appears…
And I am visited by unseen guests,
Acquaintance from oblivion…

Into my mind ambitious thoughts come swarming,
And rhymes race out to meet them on the way,
My fingers reach for a pen, the pen for paper,
And in a moment, verses freely flow.

     - Alexander Pushkin, translated by Antony Wood, "Autumn"

December can be such a fun month. Relax and enjoy yourself...