'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 would find them out 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.
~Lifted~
