A Child's Christmas At Toys R' Us Poem by Raj Dronamraju

Money was tight, it was the 1970's and President Recession had had given up
Still something had to be done
Luckily the mall stayed open late on Christmas Eve
Toys R' Us was at the south end near the movie theatre

The Aquaman action figure did not come with accessories but was still full price
He thought of it while playing in the bath, pitting it against his rubber shark
His evening bath went on while his parents talked in hushed tones in the living room

His hair was still wet in the cold night air as his parents drove carefully over recently snowplowed roads
Voices talking of dollars and cents and the week's expenses took the place of the radio
Their breathless confusion, their frantic activity snapped the tense scene like twigs

Aquaman came in a yellow box and his father tried to inquire about a discount
He opened his wallet like prying open a beartrap while his mother stifled a yawn
Only she went to work in the morning

On the way home, he suddenly grew by five or more years and thought buying such a toy was pointless when they were so poor
But a child's mind couldn't hold such a thought
He inspected Aquaman's outfit and compared it to the comic book and was satisfied
In the morning, the carpet under the plastic Christmas tree was bare