fun

a Holly Jolly Christmas

 

Shoppers were stepping to the tune of Burl Ives,

“It’s a Holly Jolly Christmas.”

In touch with the season

They came in droves

to buy groceries.

I passed a small table near the cosmetics section

Where I was pretty much left alone

And I noticed a bunch of neat colorful squares

That looked like parfait toffee

With green and pink stripes

and a creamy nougat base.

Surely this was some sort of Christmas treat

Promoting good will

And that sort of thing

And I popped one in my mouth

Quickly

To not appear like the type of person

Who would lower myself to sample a handout.

I savored the sample on the base of my tongue.

It had no taste at first, and I went through the sensation

Of what it was not.

Clearly, it was nothing that should be in my mouth

And it began to foam.

I moved at the established Burl Ive’s pace,

Not wanting to stand out

And held a hand over my mouth

To hide the foam and the evidence

That I had done a very dumb thing

By mistaking bath soap

For a candy parfait treat

And I had to move through the crowd

To the fountain at the back of the store.

At last I could open my mouth and wash out the taste

But one of the features of the colorful little square of soap

Was that it created an endless volumn of bubbles

That flowed over the fountain

And onto the floor

And over to the vegetable section

As I rinsed and rinsed my mouth out.

 

Diego Santiago

December 2006