Christmas Wishes from the Parents

The idea of Christmas snow in Michigan is replaced with fog Hot breath exhaled to cold lollipop trees My blurry life-sized polar bear salutes through the front window To me Staring back from the couch He is sweating out there in his winter coat House fills with noisy nightly ghosts Filling empty beds left from the grown kids Creaks I suppose from the settling attic on down To the hips and knees of our house Tail of that fool The perpetually hopeful golden retriever Bats the Christmas tree With his wagging baton of joy from behind Blue and red ornaments hold on for dear life Ding and ring in the ruffle of evergreen and fanned fur Like there’s a toddler of wind Crawling down the hallways from the furnace and vents Bells looped along the stairway railings Jingle to life as a lurched Santa sleigh From the paws of cats that frustratingly mitten The harnessed snack They think Are silver mice and copper sparrows A very bright young lady Last day of work before Christmas Eve Laughs in the Board room as she tells me The old boss “My Dad still writes From Santa on a few of my presents.” I quietly understand and perhaps she does too Something finally we could share across generations Santa Claus is more for parents than kids.