All last year you griped and moanedwhile I would hide or just get stonedto make it through your constant shrill henpecking.Then you finally sneaked awaythe morning after Christmas dayand drained the funds we had in our joint checking.After you had packed your junkand ran away with that young punkI was awash with conflicting emotions.Sometimes I longed for your returnsometimes I prayed that you would burnI vacillated twixt...

On the eve of Christmas day, a mother just got home from working overtime at the factory to a simple house. The dark and the silence of the house welcomes her.She sets her tired ass on the hard wooden chair, raises her feet up on a box. Looking at the white school socks hanging by the window. The wind is blowing on the socks swaying like laundry hanging outside.She opens her bag to get her gifts. She wills her tired self...

'Twas the week before Christmas, when all through the townNot a shopper was smiling, they each wore a frown;The cars they were parked in their bays willy-nilly,Whilst pedestrians dashed to-and-fro running silly;The children were screaming for this toy or thatWhilst their grandparents scanned for milk allergies and fat;And mammas in Ugg boots and dads in bad sweaters,They fast-scanned "Dear Santa, I want..." in kids' lette...

A man I knew of quite strange mind would rob the disabled and blind but then give to the very sick and needy. People thinking he was mad would ask “How can you do so bad?” He’d say ”It’s easy they can’t chase or see me.” And he’d go on with some disdain to justify and thus explain how all his actions were in fact quite good. His victims in the handicapped niche were in fact extremely rich making him a modern Robin Hood! S...

Catrin ran full tilt, her bare feet kicking up sand. Gleaming in the sunlight, her long auburn hair billowed out behind her like a sheet of flames. Without breaking stride, she glanced over her shoulder, and shrieking, picked up the pace. With the bells on her felt antlers jangling raucously and peals of laughter ringing from her throat, heads turned to look as Catrin smashed headlong into a huge, smirking Sandman. “Arghh...

The last of the winter light had leached from the sky,Seven pm on the shortest day of the year;Hurrying through bustling crowds of late night shoppers,She goes, homeward bound, worried frown creasing her browA stray lock of hair escapes from her wooly hat,Carrier bag with parcels of scarlet and gold,Clutched to her chest, last minute presentsFor harassed mother, and dad, recently retired,Time on his hands, and unsure how...

They said there would be snow for Christmas, but it just kept on raining forming a veil of tears for the virgin birth, as I see that Fir or Pine tree standing there representing a vision of Paradise. Looking like a vision of angel fire in its lights and tinsel, and knowing that children around the world are impatiently counting hours and are tossing and turning restlessly in their beds for that late night visit. For that...

".........minutes of the meeting of the Board of Members of the Managing Council of Santa, Elves and Reindeer Limited held at Santaland, North Pole. Dated 26th December 2014. Resolved, 1)That, one Mr. Mephisto Sanguini (here-in-after referred to as 'The Santa') is appointed the new Santa Claus for the year 2015-16, who will be in charge of the 10001 Elves, 25 reindeer and the Gift Factory™. 2)That, the Santa's duties will...

The all-consuming flames wash over me and start a fire in my core. Although I burn, so does the air about. The blistering heat of the forge peels away the grimy layer of metal, but as I fold it, a new layer forms. The hammer strikes. Sparks fly. Hair ignites. All but a little hair remains. Pumping the air to stoke the flames, the singed flesh against skull and bone. Another piece makes its way into the heart of the forge....

All Hearts Come Home for Christmas The small window afforded little in the way of a view. Not that there was much to see; it was snowing like crazy outside. As I settled back into my seat with a sigh, the thought that some icy catastrophe would result in the plane crashing crossed my mind. It didn’t make me any happier about the vacation that had been imposed upon me. A glance down at my hand caused another frown. The rin...

High in the sky, the stars shine so bright. Which one did they follow on that wonderful night? The three wise men who, from the orient came, To find a child, though they knew not his name. Whether we believe in the saviour or not There is no doubt that the world changed a lot. And through wars and conflicts that are so reviled There can also be peace because of this child. In nineteen fourteen, in 'the war to end wars' On...

The apparition was angry.“Stop saying that! I am not the Ghost of Christmases Past! I am the Ghost of Christmas Sideways! I show you how past Christmases and the rest of your life might have been different…if only you had been standing ten feet to the left!”“All I said was that you’re kind of like the Ghost of Christmases Past with a bit of a twist. What’s so bad about that? What’s the big deal?”The apparition continued h...

Children are so excited for Christmas Day The countdown has officially started Santa will be embarking on his sleigh The children hope Santa is bigheartedAre they on the naughty or nice list They’re hoping they have made the cut The older Children wonder if he exists This makes them anxious in their gutsThey’re acting all sweet and nice Listening to what their parents say Hoping their wants are not too overpriced Being re...

Christmas time brings all that’s fine, this wish I bring to you.Happiness in all you seek and love the whole year through.Strength to help you through the roughest times and light to guide your way.It’s Christmas time and it’s love you find I offer you today.Every day, just not today, these things then matter too.Find peace and joy and happiness in everything you do.Take time to tell the ones you love how much they mean t...

The Christmas tree was up by the first weekend in December and fully decorated by Sunday night, just before prime-time TV, but all feelings of accomplishment faded when Renfield the cat jumped headlong from the entertainment center onto the top of the tree and rode it down like Slim Pickens riding the A-bomb in Dr. Strangelove, a movie Bob loved enough to have viewed multiple times (Karen had never seen it). There was sur...