day three

prompt - "the problem with ..... "




"the problem with christmas"

there's a problem with christmas?
well yeah, what can i say ...

christmas is expensive
buying, buying, buying
all those gifts that nobody really wants
in the beginning
i am in control
then as the big day draws closer
panic takes over
forget the budget, flash the credit card


and exhausting...
indeed!
shopping is bad enough
christmas shopping is way outside of awful
small sticky handed creatures rampaging
yep! i said rampaging and
i meant it
small feet stamping, their sweet voices ...

christmas day dawns
the day after christmas eve
time to wake up and work
why do they call it "the holidays"
it takes an alarm clock to wake me up
that early!
a really big turkey takes a while
to grow all crispy and gold and succulent

thinking vegetarian
wonder how long one of those nutty roasts
needs to cook for
probably not that long, hmmm...
not a chance, thinking
mutiny, insurrection, would follow
no way my carnivorous kin
would fall for that one

the family arrive
the adult children argue about acorns, architects
anything actually!
the youngsters leap around in an excess
of energy
knocking things over and continually
asking for something to drink
what's with kids and "i'm sooo thirsty" anyway?

finally, we sit...
months of planning, hours of execution
the table groans
christmas crackers crack and wine spills
adults read their mottos with glee
while the kids fight over the cracker gifts
we drink, we eat, too much
we remember the year the table cloth caught fire

the problem with christmas ...
there is a problem with christmas?
must have slipped my mind
i'm warm and full of good food
my family are chatting and dozing around the fire
i can smell the good coffee, almost ready...
there must have been a problem
i'm sure i'll remember before next christmas ...

Copyright © 2009 by Eryll Oellermann