The Mist

good will seeps

like mist

through tiny pores

past oak-thick doors

of brick-hard fierce resistance

to the yule

stubborn as mules

we are

but caught up in the dance

of Christmas

we can't resist it

love it

hate it

scorn it

block it

we can't fight the list

of things to do

the traffic

and the drinking

and the drinking

glasses clinking

fuzzy thinking

in the fog

the mist

of Christmas

Santa's juggernaut rolls on

Rudolph's geeing up the crew

Joseph's trudging to the census

God's expecting

His Boy Jesus

Donner und Blitzen two by two

reindeer in heaven

camels below

light that star in the east

get this show on the road

and through it all

the mist

the Christmas mist

of mutual obligation

resignation

we are in it

right up to our turkey necks

in tinsel

glazing

pine trees

sleighbells

most folks round here have never even seen

people beam

and wish you merry

and they seem

to mean it

all the way

to January.