Under The Christmas Tree! Poem by Robert Edgar Burns

When I was a young boy
With stripes on my back,
From the belt that my father used
To give me great whacks,
I would occupy my mind
As each strike was ignored,
And think of the Christmases
Other kids would endure!

The welts and the bruises
Made it too sore to lay,
So I’d rest on my side
When in dreamland I’d play,
With all the children in my neighborhood,
And they all were my friends.
But when I’d wake in reality
I really knew none of them.

I would hide in my bedroom
Peering through curtains, outside.
To see the school bus children
As each would walk by!
I’d want to scream out my window,
“Hey, come be my friend! ”
It wasn’t long before the belt
Was striking me once again!

So I ran away from home,
Just to find peace in the woods!
But a childless young couple
Brought me to their home for good!
When I got to their house,
The first thing I did see,
Was a huge blue box, red ribboned
Under The Christmas Tree!

I said” oh how simply beautiful.”
“I’ve never seen such a sight.
They told me to see the label,
Addressed to me, oh what delight!

I tore the package open,
For the first time of my life.
Inside was a bright blue
Schwinn Bicycle for me to ride!

Under The Christmas Tree
Before was only a dream
Or possibly a movie,
But never a present for me!
So my dreams came true
On that Christmas Eve night!
It wasn’t the present, but in the
Love which brought new light!

A Purely Fictional Story