Like the musician who slumps after a concert, I tend to feel small and drained after Christmas, as though all the love poured into cooking and wrapping (while working) deflates me. Shouldn’t all the festivities create the opposite effect? 

I wrote this poem to capture the feeling of the post-holiday doldrums. Perhaps it’s familiar to you, too?

Backseat Boredom

It all feels backseat now
gone the hair-whipping rush
windshield-pressing anticipation
of every day
replaced with the monotone drone
of tires wearing thin 
on roads already mapped.

Written by Patricia Erikson, Peaks Island Press offers behind-the-scenes glimpses of a vibrant, literary community perched on Peaks Island, two miles off the coast of the beautiful and award-winning city of Portland, Maine. If you haven’t already, you may subscribe in the upper right corner at http://www.peaksislandpress.com.