White Christmas
In Syrian refugee camps
in Jordan, snow
in the Middle East
for the first time in decades.
It’s Christmas
and mortar shells light up Aleppo.

We bought our tree
at the local grocery,
with bags of oranges, milk, bread.
We cram into our Prius.

Northern Syria
gets electricity
two hours a week now,
no more fresh water.

In the camps,
Blankets
Distributed by lottery.

-Michele Bombardier (What We Do)

ABOUT MICHELE BOMBARDIER Poet and speech-language pathologist Michele Bombardier considers herself both artist and mechanic with language and communication as her medium. She has worked as a SLP for over 35 years and is passionate about facilitating connection through language. Her book of poetry What We Do (Aldrich Press, 2018) has been met with great acclaim and her poetry and book reviews can be found in numerous literary journals. Michele is Bainbridge Island’s first Poet Laureate and is also the founder of Fishplatepoetry, a social purpose organization that offers workshops and retreats for writers while raising funds for humanitarian relief. Michele has a small clinic on Bainbridge Island where she works as an SLP with all ages and has an impressive collection of vintage Matchbox trucks. She lives with her family under giant fir and cedar trees.