Christmas Again Poem by M S Latter

Bright lights, warm colours,
Much hype, much spending;
Embrace the countdown season,
Excitement never-ending.

Search and track them down,
Presents for you, presents for me,
Practical and useless presents
Circling the smouldering Christmas tree.

Hurry, stagger, drop;
This race is much too long.
Cash in, cash out,
Cash down, cash gone.

God of the festivities,
Santa Claus - what a jolly guy,
Reindeers, sleigh and elves;
For children's sake: keep the lie!

Christmas card streamers,
Another card, thank you so much
Jake, Marie and Jane (but not the ex-) ,
The year's only time we touch.

So children! Finally, here's the day,
Presents, toys and crackers - everything fired:
A tug, a tear, a mighty bang...
Joy and goodwill expired.

The gluttons' banquet beckons:
We gather round the bloated bird and finally dine
And typically bicker, fight and scream -
Too much stress, too much food, too much wine.

What's the point? What is the point? !
Someone missed the cry of a child,
Some point in that nativity -
Just who was that person 'meek and mild'?

As turkey jams the throat,
I choke on New Year loans;
Outside lives the sherry heat but inside
A wintry spirit grips the bones.