Santa's Surprise

SANTA'S SURPRISE Santa Claus stripped off his beard and red suit And left the show in the officers’ mess Pulling the last tiny pieces of cotton wool from his stubbled chin As he ran to his position At the end of the starboard bow catapult of the Carl Vinson Eighty feet above the stormy grey Arabian Sea He watched as far off down the flight deck The final touches manoeuvred the F22 into the cradle Its ordnance today a hundred kilogram fragmentation device For a rebel bunker in Afghanistan an hour’s flying time away A surprise delivery for them; The salt wind whipped the last cotton from his face. Then his thumb pressed the green all-clear button Engine screamed to maximum and the catapult released The flying load into the grey sky. Another successful delivery. He checked his area of the mechanism after the aircraft blurred past And hurried back inside to finish his Christmas dinner Merry Christmas Santa, they all yelled as he came in again.