On the Eve of Christmas

The poor boy heard Christmas beckoning at the door He saw every house bright with many a lamp And streets illumined with colorful lights and stars But his tiny hut looked dismal n’ dark like a prison camp With a suppressed sigh, he inhaled the festive air His little heart grew weary and dim There has never been a merry Christmas in his life As the days advanced, he grew moody and glum He, born into a cheerless, crammed shack With parents so poor having very little means To bring up their children and foster a family of seven At a tender age, saw shattered all his budding dreams One evening, on a leisurely walk from school The boy saw a man selling colorful balloons With the little penny tucked safely in his trouser pocket He bought a balloon and headed straight to the lagoons There as he sat on the sprawling silver sands A strange idea had come upon his little head To send a letter to Heaven asking for some urgent help Hoping Jesus would help, he too being born a poor kid On a white paper he carefully scribbled these lines: “Merciful God, look upon us, this miserable seven Here in our humble hovel, we die of hunger and cold On this Christmas, send us a little cheer up from heaven” He folded the paper and fastened it to the balloon Nevertheless he didn’t forget to put his full address When the wind was strong, he let it go off his hands And watched it soar high with his earnest plea for redress Days went by and the awaited Christmas Eve arrived While the world splurged in all gaiety and merriment The poor hut remained dull and cheerless as before The helpless parents were lost in grim bafflement Abruptly, there halted a Mercedes before the hut A man, old and graying with a graceful smile Alighted with his hands loaded with Christmas gifts Looking for the boy, he had traveled many a mile It was during one of his daily strolls around the lagoon That the gentleman saw a balloon suspended on a willow tree The white paper tied to it made him curious He took it up and saw an innocent’s earnest plea The man so rich and kind was moved at heart, He from his wealth decided to donate a large sum To support that family of seven in dire straits And give them the merriest Christmas with no trace of gloom The little boy believed Jesus had answered his prayer He came in the guise of a man, he had never before seen With rising delight, he saw a star in the graying sky It shone right over his head with a brighter sheen.