Tumbling down the stairs
of misfortune
Slipping on the banana peels
of time
A curtain came down
on his opening act
The Fat Lady singing
—unrhymed
(Dreamsleep: December, 2021)
To Kiley, Hunter, Braden & Parker
The house is quiet,
as Knothead’s asleep
Hershey Kisses in place
on the staircase to reap
There’s snow on the roof,
with the chimney unblocked
For Santa to enter,
new soot on his frock
The cookies and milk
on the hearth reappear
With Rudolph’s one favorite,
chocolate chip to endear
The sound of his footsteps
arrive on the roof
As Knothead awakens
to Santa’s reproof
“Get into the sleigh
as I’ve told you before
“TC and Melissa
deserve so much more
“Your mischievous wandering
has caused quite the stir
“Mrs. Claus is upset,
the good Elves much deterred
“And clean up your mess
before we move on
“Those wrappers a danger
to those woe begone”
But as they departed,
the naughty Elf smiled
Two silver reminders
ensconced to beguile
Both hidden in cupboards
for children to find
Christmas 2021
—to forever remind
(Christmas Poem: 12/24/2021)
Backstory: Knothead is the naughty Elf who has plagued the Behm household for over 40 years at Christmas time. To catch him, you need to put out Hershey Kisses, so that Santa can follow the trail of wrappers, capture him, and take him back to the North Pole.