Christmas Came Early One Spring Poem by Patti Masterman

Christmas Came Early One Spring



When I was very small
A load of plywood and two by fours
Showed up in our back yard.
I was told it was for a play house
It began to dawn on me there was only one person
Who was the right size for a play sized house:
How could it be- surely they would soon notice
How utterly spoiled I was; realize their error,
Take the wood back, and give up the plan.
But my secret was safe with me.

Speedily the little house grew from a few studs
Until there was no doubt about it
With a ground plan equal to one sheet of plywood
It was sized just right for me, the resident munchkin
There was a little sink, with removable plastic camp tub
So I could have a dish sink or a laundry wash
Whatever imagination called for that day,
And little shelves for dishes.
Another shelf for whatnots, and they said
I could move in my doll furniture, table and chairs
Soon as they got the linoleum put down.

For people who survived the depression
The idea of building a small house just for play
Would seem to have been an alien concept
I think they decided I should have everything
Simply because they had had nothing
I reaped the benefit of their lack
Not because I was wonderful or especially deserving
It was because they were endlessly self sacrificing
I could have lived on that love alone, the rest of my life.

But what a first day, to sit alone in my own little space
With that overwhelming smell of fresh cut wood
Each time I opened that little door my imagination was stoked:

The play house became a home for dolls;
A pint sized library, to read and write poems and stories
A little white schoolhouse for pretend class
A hide out from the world to stay off other people's nerves
A clubhouse for displaced teenagers
An intelligence base for spies making up secret codes
To this day, the smell of new wood is an aphrodisiac:
A burning balsam pyre to extract my creative juices.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Martin O'Neill 20 April 2010

Quite simply delightful in it's evocation of the wonder of childhood and the pure unalloyed joy in being loved and feeling blessed. Warmed my day. Thank you. Glad I found your work, honestly, makes a change from most...

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Seema Chowdhury 20 April 2010

very interesting poem.keep up the good work.

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