The Space Between Years.
Whenever this time of year comes ’round…
The Pre-Christmas Rush.
Many things to
- pick up
- check off
- see to
- arrange
- take care of
- set up
To put down—a little to the left
Wrapping up in pretty paper
Putting a bow on top of the tree
Remembering to take
A moment to breathe
In the stop-and-go traffic
On the way home.
The Christmas Day Get-together.
Once a year (with six days left!) in certain circles
Gather the humans with their kinfolk and friends
Passing gifts and gossip and grub and glasses and glee
To celebrate the birth of a 2000-plus-year-old son of God
To remember hope and warmth and bounty and being able
To walk the path of life without crawling.
The Reason for the Season.
Shopping malls aren’t what they used to be
And a dollar does not stretch as far
The rich and their big companies
Keep eating their children
For they do not know
That there is hope
Even if you will not become a god
Is the reason for the season.
Coins on the Ground.
Pick them up and cast them in the fountain
Write on the back of the calendar
That is nearly spent
What you wished for
In the swirling water
As the coins sparkled their way
To the bottom.
Onward to a New Year.
Add one to a number
Everyone does math at least once a year
The big plus-one they call it
There’s a grand machine in Times Square
A magic calculator
To add one to a number
A big crowd gathers
The ghost of John Lennon sings
Imagine all the people
With their calculators out at midnight
Smooching while the pyrotechnicians get paid
To light up a good path
To resolve that the new number
Be greater than the last
And not just in the mathroom.