Santa



My childhood visits to Santa,

Always took place at the Smith Bridgman’s Department Store.

None of the visits were remarkable enough,

To burn a true memory into my mind.



Except the last year I visited,

The year I was seven.

My classmates had argued about the truth of Santa

And so, I heard for the first time, he may not be real.



Asking my parents if he did exist,

Is there a Santa?

Only got me the standard answer,

What do you think?



So that night I put on my spy glasses

And checked this guy out closely.

Yeah, the beard looked fake,

But he sounded Clausey.



He DID know my name,

But he smelled kind of musty.

He handed me a candy cane and released me from his lap

And there was the tell-tale sign, his boots were not real.



So that year Santa ceased to exist.

But only in that childish candy cane way.

Cause Santa is part of the spirit of Christmas

And he exists in my heart.



Roy Richard

December 2023