Nutmeg, honey,
and cinnamon
stirred into
scarlet wine.
Warmed and poured
out liberally
during the
darkest times.
Romans steeped
the warming drink
from spoiled
bitter batches-
making each ruby
chalice more
forgiving
on the pallet.
When The Black Plague
struck
northern Europe
in the Middle Ages,
men and women
filled their cups
to ward off stench
and illness.
The cruel irony,
of course, is how
the spice trade
spurred the spread,
killing quicker
then they could count
collapsing drunk
or dead.
Later, Dickens wrote
of four spirits:
three
ghostly visits,
and one
Smoking Bishop,
forever making
the delicacy
a timeless
yuletide
tradition.
pm poetry 