T'was the night before Christmas
By: Jim LaPolla
And all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring,
'Cept me and my spouse.
My kitchen was cluttered
From ceiling to floor
With bowls, pots and pans
And dishes galore.
It will surely be morning
Before we are done,
But our #1 goal
Is the kids having fun.
The last cookie sheet
In the oven it goes,
Twelve little Santas
All lined up in rows.
While off in the distance
..From the basement I hear
A frustrated daddy
Yelling, "Gimme a beer!"
I peered down the stairs
To see such a sight
The room was in tatters
But he was alright!
Parts to the left of him
Parts to the right
A mechanical genius
He ain't this night!
Johnny's toboggan
And Mary's doll house
Are scattered in pieces
All over the place
I heard him mumbling
And I finally concluded
It was something about
"Batteries not included."
I heard him exclaim
As he slammed the back door,
"Some assembly required....
Never more, never more!"
Santa is coming,
Or so the kids say
But will there be toys
Come this Christmas day?
In the wee hours of morn,
The kitchen is clean.
I went to the basement
Where all seemed serene.
There on the floor
Amid all the kids' stuff
Lies poor old dad sleeping
He'd had quite enough.
But the job was soon finished
And all was prepared
Santa's reputation
Would once more be spared.
I leaned down and whispered,
"A job well done...
Now let's get some sleep
Before up comes the sun."
We placed all the presents
Under the tree,
Then climbed into bed
My hubby and me.
With arms 'round each other
We let out a sigh.....
We'd heard the kids footsteps
In the bedroom nearby.
It couldn't be morning
Not yet, anyway.
In our warm, cozy bed
We wanted to stay!
But in they ran
With squeals of delight
For Santa had come
Sometime in the night!
I smiled and I thought
Heck, what's one night's sleep?
The kiddies' excitement
Beats counting sheep.
I crawled out of bed
And tripped down the steps
Merry Christmas to all!
(Just look at this mess!)
©1998