The Choir At Christmas Poem by Kate West

They've practised all year for this concert
Their favourite of the year
Carols at Christmas go down a treat
It'll be a joy to hear

The conductor pauses, his baton raised
Till most eyes look his way
But Maud has yet to find her page
He sighs and starts to pray

Maud stares down at her music
Is she really on the right page?
Notes and symbols make no sense
Perhaps its a sign of age

The conductor nods to the pianist
Who's cursed with perfect pitch
She prays tonight they'll stay in tune
Her fingers start to itch

She starts the opening Carol
Her hands caress the keys
Beautiful melody fills the air
She's more than worth her fees

A new arrangement of this well loved tune
has the Alto's start the song
They keep it fairly muffled
Just in case they're wrong

Brave Soprano's join the chorus
And belt it out with gusto
Their volume set to double 'F'
Though the score is marked 'Piano'

John- Dark eyes and deep honeyed tones,
The catch of the Basses quite clearly
Relishes the 3rd verse Bass entry
But comes in 2 bars too early

He shows no sign of embarrassment
As all eyes look his way
But coolly he glances to his left
To put the blame on Dave

Tenors gird their loins for the high notes
Surprising themselves with success
It's really sounding rather good
Everyone has to confess

And then the miracle starts to work
As the parts they interweave
Each word has meaning, each voice in tune
Their finest work indeed

Was it Angels up in the rafters
Created that heavenly sound?
But in that hall, one winters eve
Harmony and peace were found