California at Christmas Tide

Ten poems that flip the Christmas card entirely. Where most holiday verse reaches for snow and sleigh bells, Sexton writes from California's mild December coast, finding holiday magic in an entirely different register. These are small, precise poems that notice what others miss: the strange beauty of poinsettias against a blue sky, perhaps, or the particular quality of winter light on the Pacific. There's no performative nostalgia here, no mourning for the white Christmas these poems never promise. Instead, they offer something quieter and more radical: genuine wonder at what this landscape provides. Perfect for readers who want their Christmas reading to feel like stepping into sunlight.