Lakeshore Bonfire

Here’s the first poem from my index card boxes for poems that start with the letter L:

lakeshore bonfire—

the youth choir amplified

from the Christmas ship

Do you have Christmas ships where you live? They’ve been a seasonal festivity in the Seattle area for decades, with many boats festooned with Christmas lights plying our lakes and waterways every November and December. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about Christmas ships:

Seattle, Washington held its first Christmas ship parade in 1941, but without any lights on the boats due to blackout regulations during World War II. From 1949 to 1993, Seattle’s Christmas ship festival was led by the Seattle Department of Parks. Since 1994, it has been led by Argosy Cruises, and sails multiple times daily during December. A lead boat travels to waterfront destinations on Lake Washington and in Puget Sound, and a choral group on the boat sings a program of Christmas carols to the audience on shore. Private boats decorated for the season may follow the lead boat.

I’ve never been on one of the Argosy boats for a Christmas cruise but have been on shore a few times at some of the designated nightly stopping points, usually a beach or park. Some people on shore wear santa hats and Christmas lights, and everyone enjoys bonfires and snacks while awaiting the lead ship. When it arrives, performers on the boat sing carols that people on shore can hear through amplified speakers on the boat. The lead boat may make several stops in an evening, bringing holiday joy to many people at lakefront beaches. I wrote my poem on 20 February 2017 in Sammamish, Washington, in response to a prompt for National Haiku Writing Month. The poem appeared in Jumble Box, a NaHaiWriMo anthology I edited and published in 2017. You can read about the book, read my introduction, and read all my poems from the book. Meanwhile, if you ever get a chance to see a Christmas ship parade, don’t miss it!

—21 May 2025 (previously unpublished)