Rolling Downhill (+1)

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.