Demythologization

We celebrate the season of Christmas,
hoping a month of forced generosity
will make up for a daily dogma of greed,
for we like to think ourselves nice people at heart.
Turning our heads to the fact we live
where the lion feasts on the lamb,
rough places are left to grow rougher,
lights are buried under baskets of indifference,
and the children lay their hands on
the dens of the adders of selfishness
so once bitten, they may carry on our Traditions.
We search for the real meaning of Christmas
through countless warm, fuzzy stories
that hint of compassion and giving,
and when we find it, we play with it
a few early Christmas morning hours
on the safe, shaggy rug
before putting it back in our closets
for another year,
forgotten when our heads hit the pillow
Christmas night.

Christmas is something we should live all year,
and when we strip ourselves of our delusions,
stop pretending to be something we’re really not,
get over being our own favorite charity,
we may have a chance to do it
at last.