(snow belles shuffling
in their frozen dive,
jock frost chipping
at your glow)

There was never a time like this.
Elves on the shelves, toys for the boys
And girls, and even the animals,
Nipping in secret at the nutmeg bush.
Visions of sugarplums, the little fat red
Gone wild in the midnight sky,
Jelly jiggling his joyful pot with a wink.
Then, howling at the dime store moon,
He flies.
And everything is "Merry."
And everything is "Christmas."
And everywhere on the somewhere side
Of the world, there is a tear falling,
Waiting for tomorrow to dry.

(as seen in "Montage," spring ’74)