Gregory Richard Barden Poet Rhyme

Notes About The Poem

the night before christmas

'twas the night before Christmas
          and with finances dead
               no black number lasted -
     turned Rudolph-nose red

my wallet, 'twas empty
          my plastic quite maxed
               my bank account zero
     my credit - gone, axed!

my back like my money
          was spent and inflamed
               the gift-wrapping mess
     put a landfill to shame

the stockings were jammed
          with a slew of odd junk
               tho' I don't recall WHAT
     (being just short of drunk)

I'd hung them with care
          'bove the fireplace, but ...
               they all smelled like smoke
     with the flue frozen shut

my goodwill was doomed
          for the shape it was in
               and my patience had left
     with the last of the gin

but bless all the guests
          they slept like the dead
               (our sugarplums spiked
     with pure Panama Red)

perhaps I could sleep now
          sans nightmares and fear
               left dreaming the madness ...
     of Christmas ... NEXT year.




( photographic art taken from public domain files copyright-free at FreePik / Flickr )

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Andrea Dietrich December 31, 2025 at 8:09 AM This is great, Greg!! Loved that line about the spiked sugar plums! Gregory Richard Barden January 23, 2026 at 10:46 PM Ha - this was so much fun to write Andrea – the original I wrote when I was here before, but I think I’ve tweaked it a little bit. I shy away from writing humor, but I’m not sure why? They always seem to come out pretty good! Thank you buddy! :o) <3