By Carol Levy, PNN Columnist

‘Twas the night after Thanksgiving
And all through the house
No one was stirring,
The only sound was my oww’s

It took all my strength
To bend and to stretch
In hopes of getting
Myself undressed.

Christmas will be at my house,
Said my Aunt Joan.
Don't anyone worry
All you'll need is a phone.

The Zooming will work,
I said with a grin.
To myself I added,
“This year the pain won’t win.”

So many other times
If I groaned or I grimaced
The others round the table
Gave me a look saying, “You're finished.”

Covid is awful,
Zooming a wonderful thing.
I can take my pills or sit silently,
And move the camera away from me.

Santa is giving me
Quite a gift.
Where the pain can’t be seen,
Or called a grift.

This year I expect better,
I know that sounds weird.
But it seems social distancing and masks
Are gifts to be cheered.

I hope you all have
Pain free holidays.
But even if there is pain,
It can be a time for hoorays.

Family and friends together
So close, yet not near.
Can make it a holiday
We don't have to fear.

If the pain starts to get us,
We won’t have to leave the table.
Just turn the webcam away,
And do what we're able

The point of this poem
Is to find a way
To keep the negative people
From making it a bad holiday.

My hope is for none of the negativity
That’s often brought.
It happens too often,
What getting together has wrought.

My wish to you all
Is the same as old Mr. Claus
Merry Christmas to all,
Full of fun and guffaws.

Carol Jay Levy has lived with trigeminal neuralgia, a chronic facial pain disorder, for over 30 years. She is the author of “A Pained Life, A Chronic Pain Journey.”  Carol is the moderator of the Facebook support group “Women in Pain Awareness.”