Unhappy Christmas Poem by Terry Donovan

She sat beside the Christmas tree and cried,
Unnoticed by the children as they played
And opened their new presents so wide-eyed
And acted like all children Christmas-dayed.

The record-player sang a jolly song,
The nearby cooking turkey smelled yum-yum,
She'd made the effort, tried to play along
And tried to be the perfect Christmas mum.

But came the time she had to dropp her mask,
Admit that on her own she couldn't cope,
Alone she was unequal to the task
And at the test admit she'd lost all hope.

The children played and laughed and didn't know
Until they found her footsteps in the snow......