Christmas in New York

Immediately upon arrival, we hied up to Lincoln Center
To see what we could score on tickets.
Success with The Nutcracker by the New York City Ballet;
The Magic Flute was sold out for Christmas Eve.
Joined for dinner at Basso56, our neighborhood favorite,
Were daughters Wynne Anne, Wendy, her husband John.

Up early on the twenty-third for a vigorous day.
Which began inauspiciously, when the MetroCard machine
Ate my twenty dollar bill and refused to give it back,
Thus requiring a written complaint to secure a refund.

Down to the Imperial Theater to get good seats for
That evening's performance of Billy Elliot, the musical.
Over to Rockefeller Center to photograph the tree
Which was lit again by Turtle and Hughes, the Millards' company.

A quiet, brief celebration of Holy Eucharist
In the chantry chapel of St. Thomas.
Then down the street to the Museum of Modern Art,
A scheduled destination, to better acquaint Patrick
With the masters of contemporary art, including
My favorite, Vasily Kandinsky, renowned of line and form.
Lunch at The Modern, a truly in cafe at the museum.

Billy Elliot was Barbara's delight, and
A fitting complement to a ballet holiday.
Having nothing planned for the morning of Christmas Eve,
We sampled some of the exhibits
At the American Museum of Natural History,
Highlighted by Whoopi Goldberg's narration
Of the Journey to the Stars, in the new planetarium.

Having never seen The Nutcracker in live performance,
I was enchanted by the version by the New York City Ballet.
We thought we would call it a day after
An early dinner at P.J. Clarke's across from Lincoln Center.

When a well-dressed woman seated next to us,
Out of the blue, asked us if we would like to see the opera.
She had balcony tickets, but couldn't use them,
As her husband's father was being taken to the hospital.

So this dear lady from Mt. Kisco,
Made it possible for us to fulfil our original intent.
Back to the Met for the holiday version of The Magic Flute,
Thus completing the circle of cultural effusion. 

To Old Greenwich for a huge family Christmas
At the Millards, with twenty in attendance.
The youngest, a year and a half, and the oldest,
Well, who else would it be?