Oh God, we've turned the page on Thanksgiving - Dec. 1, 2024

our Christmas tree is a two-section fake

connect unfold the branches fluff

a ribbon twist a bulb straighten

an ornament plug in

the exact kind of tree you’d find at

a department store in a wide well-

trafficked aisle cheery and twinkling

with Christmas carols swirling

in the scented air

I wonder why this holiday is not

celebrated by believers only

the rest of us worship mostly material

things and slip our little bit of religion

at checkout into jars for poor creatures

and people or maybe that's just me

Shouldn’t this celebration be for a Christ

birthed and re-birthed in the heart?

I admit mine is childless though I adore

children and have faith that some

will grow up spending love

more than anything else

and maybe one will go beyond

even that