The Christmas poem
by m.e.hanley
Christmas is a time of joy,
For every little girl and boy.
Giving everyone a present,
Always being pleasant.
Hoping that Santa comes,
Having over all my chums.
Musical notes fill the air,
Hope we don't get underwear.
Santa bringing presents in his sleigh,
That's what happens on Christmas Day.
Editor's note: Here is the final poem from a recently discovered early works of the little-respected poet and Diet Coke aficionado, m.e.hanley. This fifth poem focuses on Christmas. Again, the poet relies on uneven, almost nonsensical rhyming patterns to convey a sense of unbalance to the reader. It's as if the poet is forcing us to look again at our holidays to see if there is not something unsettling.
Using the ironic "joy" to open, the poet exposes the cynical underbelly of Christmas: the consumerism, the Socialist drive to give "everyone a present", the clanging musical notes that contribute to noise pollution.
Many experts focus in on the sixth line of the poem. Here, the main character is hanging around with his "chums." Is the poet referring to his male friends - an exclusive group of privileged male Ubermensch? Or is he referring to the the salmon native to the northern Pacific and adjacent waterways? Either way, the image is disturbing.
But it does not end there. In this poem, even gifts must meet rigid standards: no underwear allowed. And Santa brings presents not on Christmas Eve while children sleep, but on Christmas Day, undoubtedly to expose the fraud that has been wrought by our greed.
We hope you have enjoyed these poems that we were pained to present. Who knows what other literary treasures will be uncovered in the next three ring binder?
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