Festive Season Poetry Contest - THE ENTRIES

Here they are - all fifty-five of them! Please read them all before you vote, and see the VOTING RULES before you do.

Here's a summary of how the prizes will be awarded.

Remember, the deadline to vote is

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15 at MIDNIGHT, US Eastern Standard Time

Enjoy... and vote!

Happy holidays -- whatever holidays you have -- to everyone!

ETA:

HERE IS THE AUTHOR LIST:

1 : song of the wise travelers -- kborsden
2 : after christmas lunch -- kborsden
3 : Carol's Christmas -- rtilryarms
4 : Memorable Christmas -- Susie
5 : Merry Christmas -- Susie
6 : The Joy of Christmas. -- arrowqueen
7 : Christmas Memories -- Shiraz
8 : Christmas Joy -- LimeyDawg
9 : Ohhld Christmas Tree -- Paint
10 : Unentitled -- ChunkyC
11 : Untitled -- dclary
12 : Untitled -- davids
13 : Santa's coming -- davids
14 : Home -- louisgodwin
15 : Santa Must Die -- louisgodwin
16 : the bells do ring -- kdnxdr
17 : Untitled -- Allie
18 : Journey of the Three Kings –- (anonymous)
19 : Christmas Tree –- kjh7073
20 : Forevergreen -- The Day After Christmas -- rhymegirl
21 : The Trinket – Stew21
22 : Bethlehem -- ddgryphon
23 : Do Dragons Celebrate Christmas? -- moth
24 : On Christmas Day -- DreamWorks
25 : What It Is -- KTC
26 : I Remember, Us Four Boys -- KTC
27 : Musicians Playing Under Windows* -- peg
28 : Usurped -- dclary
29 : Wintertime in Paris -- Godfather
30 : A Ramblers Christmas. -- Godfather
31 : St Stephens` Dawn -- Dylan
32 : SO, THIS IS CHRISTMAS -- Dee
33 : Märchen -- AnnieColleen
34 : Christmases Past -- Collin
35 : ‘Tis Two Weeks Before Christmas -- jdkiggins
36 : To Want in Winter -- Perks
37 : With Apologies to Eartha Kitt -- JeanneTGC
38 : Christmas Squeak -- damhnait
39 : What Would Christmas Be Without Eggnog? –- Doctor Shifty
40 : Nativity - His and Mine -– Doctor Shifty
41 : Divine Conception -– Pat~
42 : Snowed-In Minute -- nahalwi
43 : Waiting for Snowflakes -- Angelinity
44 : New Year (bottled time) -- Sybilla
45 : The Man – billythrilly7th
46 : Christmas Miracle –- Cassie88
47 : THE CHRISTMAS LIST -– Cassie88
48 : The Christmas Bat -- JeanneTGC
49 : Christmas Cheese -– screenmom
50 : Christmas In Australia –- Mod35tBabe
51 : Christmas in the Summertime –- Mod35tBabe
52 : Her Man of Mystery -- rhymegirl
53 : Oh, how I hate Christmas -- PrettySpecialGal
54 : Drive of the Wise Man –- William Haskins
55 : On Seeing the Star -- SherryTex

1 : song of the wise travellers

Ah,
Now the time has come
To follow that star,
No matter how far,
To a king unknown.

O,
Though my feet are numb,
Through the bitter cold,
Travelled deserts old,
To our king we come.

Yes,
In a manger is
Splendour’s child caressed
In peasant cloth dressed,
This our king and gift.

2 : after christmas lunch

I sit on the sofa,
My gut is bloated,
My pants are bursting
Worse at the seams.
Children playing upstairs,
My family close and near.

I take another lager,
Stuff my face with cakes,
Reel back in a pose
Ready for sleep.
The tree-lamps are glowing,
This warm illumination.
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3 : Carol's Christmas

Two nights before Christmas
And I feel like a louse
I still haven’t shopped
For my beloved spouse

I know I should go
But the lines will be long
Whatever I pick though
Is sure to be wrong

Of course I've been told
“Get her just anything”
But I know that it better
Be a rock in a ring

All the good stuff is gone
And it is left up to us
To take what is left
But there is less fuss

Dogone it, says I
What a perilous plight
I gotta get something
So go I into the night

After fighting and brawling
And pushing and shove
I finally found something
Fitting her like a glove

Out of the chaos, debris
And taking my licks
I got not just one present
I got my honey six

Wrapping and wrapping
And tying the bows
Delicately placing them
In neat little rows

The relief that I feel
On my face brightly worn
As I anticipate her love
First thing Christmas morn

It’s the giving that counts
I hear year after year
Someday she’ll appreciate

That six pack of beer

4 : Memorable Christmas

Every year my Christmas
is wonderful and true.
Not because of the gifts -
Just because of you.
The sharing and the caring
means so much to me.
It's a memorable Christmas
because we're family.
I want to tell you,
so deep within my heart.
Each Christmas is great,
I knew it from the start.
You give me everything
every single day.
Christmas is all-year-round
in that special way.

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5 : Merry Christmas

Christmas is so happy
With all the goodness it brings.
The sharing and the caring -
The joy of all good things.

Hearing children's laughter,
the snow falling on th ground.
And Santa's magical sleigh
making jingle-bell sounds.

It is such a lovely time,
with joyous carolers galore.
A time of unselfish giving,
with lots of presents in store.

6 : The Joy of Christmas

The Christmas lights are shining;
snowy reflections glint.
The piles of gifts are ready -
and I am bleedin' skint.

7 : Christmas Memories

I wake to the radio
As it plays holiday tunes
I pull the covers to my chin
And smile
The season does begin

Dear husband not yet in
The mood, covers his ears
Pillow over his head
Grumbles
As he lies there in bed

The white stoneware mugs
Are all put away
Replaced with holly china
Festive
Nothing could be fina’

It’s still dark outside
But decorative lamp posts
Sparkle, casting a shimmery glow
Perfect
To light the street below

The office has been busy
Trying to focus on business alone
Interrupted by one thought
*Christmas*
And all the gifts unbought

Gala parties and shopping sprees
Family and friends together
The calendar is very full
“Oy vey”
This is a bunch of bull

I collapse in my chair
Glaring at the mess before me
It’s the twenty-sixth of December
Good Lord
Yes; next year, that I must remember.

8 : Christmas Joy

I learned a few things about gift buying
this year, searching every mall sale wading
through obscure and pricey web sites trying
to find that perfect It beyond trading,
beyond the years of lies, of Oh-honey-
it’s-lovely-but-not-quite-my-size worry,
knowing, really, it is about money;
the “me” of her drives my spending flurry.

This year I decided to drop a wad
(to hell with bills, I found just what she needs)
though I never thought to look there, by God.
And though the price is making my nose bleed
Christmas is, is it not, about the smiles
that reward us giving the perfect gift?
The neighbors are sure to hear her for miles
when she opens that box, (you catch my drift?)

So I hand her the box and she shakes it
“I hope its not clothing…no, it’s too light”
but I smile, “I found you a better fit.
It’s gold in the box, something that’s just right.”
She tears into it, expectations high,
past the expensive gold paper wrapping
the shirt box tells nothing of what’s inside
but what’s inside sets giddy hands clapping.

To be honest I did expect some tears
the joy was a little disconcerting
but I got it right, after all these years
no disappointment, just my wife blurting
“It’s perfect. Funny, but perfect timing”
I’m confused, “why is it funny to you?”
She hands me my gift, gleefully chiming
“Silly, I got you divorce papers too.”

9 : Ohhld Christmas Tree

To the attic I climbed
up up a rickety ladder
on a quest for Christmas paper
bows, ribbons, labels; the like.

There behind Grandma Gertie's trunk
scraggly, broken and listing
an ohhld black Christmas tree
waited for the holidays to arrive.

I reached out to touch it I'm sure
sparks flew aplenty-I fell back
smacked my head on the floor
blinked to clear my watery eyes.

Transformed! I tell you true
a radiant thing of glory
Christmas tree fit for a King
Glowed in balls, candy and toys.

I ran in a tizzy to tell my wife
"Come see it! You won't beleive"
but when we ascended the ladder
the tree was nowhere to be found.

"It was here, right here!" I pleaded
to her rapidly departing back,
she mumbled as she descended "eggnog excess"
I turned back to see where

On the floor black needles lay scattered
Maybe the dust from a Christmas past
I decided right then not to pursue it
have a glass of eggnog instead.

10 : Unentitled

(can be read to the tune of ... you'll figure it out)

Rudolph roasting on an open fire,
Jack frost nipping at your nuts,
All through the land, there are cries of pain:
Merry Xmas, all my credit cards are maxed.

Trying to keep warm 'round a sputtering pyre,
Dying from a thousand paper cuts,
The bills are piled where there once was a pane:
Had to sell the house, to pay the taxes.

Somewhere my bicycle is rolling on its tires,
Somewhere my SUV is trolling for cheap sluts,
If I had to, I'd do it all again:
'cept the part where my wife has that axe.

So make sure in November you don't get fired,
Or you'll end up working at Pizza Hut,
How long will it take to be solvent again:
Hopefully....
If you're lucky....
Things will be ducky....

By next Xmas.

11 : Untitled

I am sitting at a window overlooking
the mouth cut into the earth
that opens up and reveals
Los Angeles.

A red river flows from me to the south
and a white river flows back.
Each light a carful of hopes and dreams
and fears.
Memories of better times.
Prayers for better times.
Trapped here with me, despite their desperate froth.

LA is grey and brown.
Grey sky over grey concrete.
Brown hills under brown clouds.
Like the life in my chest
the color has drained from my world.

When I was a child I sang
as children sing
of peace on earth
goodwill toward
man. Of Jolly Men who gave without limit.
Of Angels we heard on high.

I don't sing much anymore
but when the children open their mouths again
I bask in their innocence
like Naaman in the river Jordan.

12 : Untitled

If ever I were to lay me down to sleep,
it would not be where I lay now,
with Jingle Bells in my ears
my hand holding in my buddy’s guts.

Instead I’d put me somewhere else
where strawberry ripple inflames my tongue
with sweet and old and jingly bells
of a child not long ago.

So help me please
I’m on my face
with nowhere nice to go
to smell the tree
and see the lights
to love the love of Angel’s wings
high atop a prickly pine
of stockings, mantles, icy ways
where sleds defy my childhood play
on snowy peaks deep valleys long,
that lead me back to puddings plumbed
the search and wait for Nicks sweet gifts,
of love forgotten in tombs of pain
that jingle bell rocks in searing screams.

13 : Santa's Coming

Santa’s coming Santa’s coming,
I hear my kiddies cry.
Inside the hearts of children dwell
the truth for all to see.

Santa’s dead Santa’s dead,
I hear the cynic cry.
Let us tell the truth
Let us smash the dreams
We children pray should never die.

14 : Home

Snow sprinkles down
Through a gentle December wind.
A benevolent quiet surrounds me
As I tread over the slush
Up to my house.
A warm light emanates
Through all the windows.
A beacon for the end of my journey.
And from behind the house I hear
The joyous sound of laughing children,
And the “whiffs” of snowballs
Missing their targets.
I smell a warm oven
Baking a supper that’s almost done.
Before I enter Home,
I stop
And let a snowflake float
Onto the tip of my tongue,
And glide my fingers over
The wood of the doorframe.
Content, I turn the knob
And enter.

15 : Santa Must Die

From a time before I can remember
(That big fat belly and those rosy cheeks)
Santa has always given me the creeps.
Always thought those adoring kids were freaks.

Some think he’s jolly, I think he’s depraved.
And what the hell is it with all that red?
What normal grown man hangs out with elves?
I won’t rest until Old Saint Nick is dead.

Yeah, you bet I’ve been a good boy this year.
Bought me a Glock, and a Smith & Wesson.
So please go ahead and land on my roof.
I want so badly to teach you a lesson.

Hope you shove that fat a$$ down my chimney.
You better not cry, you better not pout
When my baseball bat meets your kneecaps
C’mon, Mr. Claus. I’m calling you out.

16 : the bells do ring

how does the unholy
touch the holy of the day?
does corrosion hide
'neath tinsel and garland,
reek of scents to feign
divine and color death
so gay? Wherewith, the eternal
spies our pride, reveals
the fraud and routs the weak
to sing of joy and hope and peace
believing in a child.

brotherhood, sisterhood
humanity at it's base,
the bells do ring and prayer
pronounce that virtue does
abound; it's cradled in a meager
home, our cheer belies the tide
but humility glows the star;
the warmth of this and many
seasons be yours and mine
for all.

17 : Untitled

Dream little child.


Dream little child,
Snow is falling.


Dream little child,
Snow is falling,
Magic is twinkling.


Dream little child,
Snow is falling,
Magic is twinkling.
The magic is yours,
And through you, mine
You can comprehend
The divine legends
And through you, I
Finally understand


Dream little child
Snow is falling,
Magic is twinkling.


Dream little child,
Snow is falling.


Dream little child.

18 : Journey of the Three Kings

1.
Remember you the northern star
gathered kings knelt ‘round the manger
But did you know they came so far,
a journey fraught with death and danger?

Burst upon the clearest night
cascading Tigris skies too dark
Northern star did come alight
imploring Magi to embark

Excited Balthasar saddled first
Caspar followed in his stead
Melchior thought the journey cursed
and told the Magi of his dread

“I know nothing of that star
to what we travel I don’t know
Are you willing to go so far
leaving rivers’ tender flow?”

“Dear friend!” elated Caspar cried
“A savior’s born! A savior’s born!
Danger’s nothing, we must ride
with gifts and praise, we are reborn!”

2.
Convinced and packed, away they strode
riding west from sunrise warm
Eleven days with treasures loaded
but then the storm clouds soon did form

Relentless rains did marshal floods
ships of the desert sinking swift
Waters raging, churning mud
Three Kings floating, treasures adrift

When floods did stop, down beat the sun
with magi weak, jackals attacked
Dripped kings blood, nowhere to run
Melchior did fight them back

Into the night did three kings fend
wounds to healing, healing to scars
And when they felt at their wits ends
they gazed upon that northern star

Strength returned, hearts grew broad
emboldened by this gift of hope
Again they walked, remaining awed
topping dunes, then down their slopes

3.
Soon came these kings exhausted strangers
journey just a frightful blur
Knelt down beside this glowing manger
with gold and frankincense and myrrh

Magi embracing God’s deep love
to give of man His greatest gift
Praising Mary, gazing above
Three Kings spirits did this lift

When the time had come to leave
Matthew asked them of their story
They shook their heads and ambled off,
“We praise and give Him all the glory.”

Caspar and brave Melchior
Returned on camel back to Persia
Balthasar did stay behind
continuing holy immersion

So, Matthew wrote this of that day
“These Three Kings did I see ride
Great gifts given, one taken away
a gift of God they keep inside.”

19 : Christmas Tree

Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree
Playing all day long
In several languages
You’re there when I surface
From the subway in the morning
Making me long
To be gone.

Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree
How I despise your melody
Yet you make me think
Of days long gone
Every time I hear your
Really annoying song.

Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree
In front of the window
Lighting the dark street outside
How I stared in wonder
As the lights twinkled
And wondered that surprises
You had to hide.

Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree
Trimmed with tinsel and lights
With the scent of fake pine
Sprayed on all of your plastic branches
How you delighted me with
Your amazing sparkle and shine.

Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree
I would lie beneath you and stare
Up into your branches
That were pushed into place with care
Red, white and green into the holes
On the tree trunk
One never seemed to fit anywhere.

Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree
Decorated with grandeur and flair
The Life Saver man I made in when I was ten
The construction paper chain
The stale popcorn threaded with care
The star on the very top.

Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree
With the gifts below,
Decorated in fancy bows
Two were always marked for me
And they were always pushed towards the back
To make room for the rest of the attack
On Christmas morning.

Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree
How we loved you on that day
Packages and gifts, trains and dolls
You were the beacon of it all.
You gave us light in those wee hours
And saw us through it all.

Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree
Your tune no longer annoys me
My memories of you fill me with glee
Through plastic, foil, paper and corn
You were never one to scorn.
Your lights make my heart brighter
Your branches wrap and keep me warm.

Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree
No longer just for one day
You live in my memory always
And constantly light the way.
And, now I hum your catchy little tune
As though it was brand new.

20 : Forevergreen -- The Day After Christmas

I will take you down today,
Your arms are surely sore
Weighed down beneath these treasures
For a week or maybe more.

The day I stood you on your feet
And spread your arms so wide
It gave me such a sense of joy
Impossible to hide.

Your fresh pine scent reminded me
Of nature at its best,
The rows of trees I’ve walked between
To think or sit and rest.

But when I hooked some ornaments
And strung some lights on you
Then you became a festive sight
Quite beautiful to view.

I stood and watched the glowing lights
Blink on and off a while,
And every little snowman, bell
Or angel made me smile.

But unlike any childhood wish
I’ve clung to in my past,
I know that something beautiful
Like this can never last.

And so it’s time to take you down
And strip you of these things
Unnatural for you despite
The special joy it brings.

I’ll plant you in the earth again
And let you face the sun
As naked as God made you
Now that Christmas Day is done.

21 : The Trinket

Her tired smile
creased her cheeks.
resembled mine;
and still reminds.
She died;
Was a cold November;
mourning caretaker,
soulmentor.
Holiday candle -
glowed,
the soft ember.
then smoke ribbon rose
with a broad stroke
of breeze.
She visited that December.
returned the candle's light;
it flickered
as she whispered
“I am here.
my fire still burns
in you.
wear my heart;
and in yours
I'll be.”
and placed in a box
beneath my tree,
a pendant
from her to me.

in my hands,
her fire;
her heart
worn with pleasure.
her trinket
is now
my treasure.

22 : Bethlehem

One
birth--
ancient--
rings across
generations past:
altered in form, spirit never
lost, though it divides
nations; joins
lost souls
in
love

23 : Do Dragons Celebrate Christmas?

My pet dragon Sneert melts snow when he breathes
And looks kind of sad when it drops off the eaves,
But then gets distracted by our neighbors' lawn ornaments --
Pouncing and batting at nativity adorn-a-ments.

He thinks light-strings are jumpropes and garlands are scarves
And wears ribbons as hats while he sits down and carves
"Sneert was here" in tree trunks up higher
Then sniggers and snorts and has to pat out the fire.

I try to be patient, I try to explain
But he just gleefully does it again and again.
I'm not sure if he wants to join in the merriment
Or if he just thinks Christmas is a time to experiment.

But last night I saw him, out on the lawn
Serene and composed, his goofiness gone
As he gazed at the stars, not even blinking.
And I swear he was smiling, and I swear he was thinking.

Then he straightened the lawn ornaments and re-strung the light-strings
Righting all of our neighbors' fancy Christmas night things.
He patted the evergreens that he'd hurt
And did something -- I couldn't see what -- to their dirt.

He curled up asleep outside our front door
And though I still wonder if he knows what Christmas is for,
I know in my heart that *I* understand
That Christmas and dragons can go hand in hand.

24 : On Christmas Day

On Christmas day I bared my soul
Dancing in the street
For all to see, I gave my self
Like a Christmas treat
Succulent like peach
I wanted you to reach
A piece of me for each of you to eat and feel at peace
On Christmas day I stripped myself
Dancing in the street
Thats how I bared my soul to you
I heard an ancient beat
*

Do you hear the beat of the sun through the snow? it's calling!
Dance a little dance says the sun, just for me
Dancing to the beat of the sun I am melting snow
As I bare my soul in the street I am glowing
If there was a God I'm his son and I know he's watching
Other faces melt from existence as I dance
Is the beat from me or am I like a leaf, drawn by it
Will I disappear from the earth when the beating stops
Mustn't cease at all not at all I'm afraid of failing
What if when I stop, beating stops, then It's all my fault
Mustn't look around so I dance to the beat keep dancing
Til the vision ends and suddenly I'm cold
*

Was it God? I hear you ask,
Who had entered in my bones and asked to see a dance that would prove I had no fear?
Was it love or just frustration or sheer determination or a feeling of entrapment in my studio apartment?
Overwork and underpay, stifling of my artist's soul that made me dance into the street desperate to break a mold?
Well as the kind old officer (that strapped me to a bed once they took me to the station, later on) had said
"Ecstasy... powerful stuff"
***
I screamed inside my head which is the harshest kind of scream when I was strapped unto that bed
As my thoughts unravelled further than I ever thought they could, through my mind I heard the voice of Satan
thank me for my crimes, for my soul and for my writhing as he laughed at me and said
you will pay for earthly crimes from now until you're dead after history reverses and goes by a thousand times
***

When I awoke it was in silence I peered through the glass and at the street
where I had bared my soul
How different it appeared from in the psychiatric ward, and how absurd to think of me
a dancer
dancing in the nude in front of Micky D's while it was snowing and -5 degrees
The snowflakes dance and hug the ground and it looks more than poetic
And never have I felt so calm, never so at rest as I am inside this womb locked up and under constant supervision.