by Mariane
Holbrook
‘Twas the
week before Christmas and all through the land
The Sunday School
programs were going on as planned.
With candles in windows, a
brightly-lit tree,
A scene so exciting the kids squealed with
glee.
The girls wore red dresses with bows in their
hair.
The boys tried to act as if they didn’t care.
Grandmas
wore pins made like jade Christmas trees.
The dads all took
pictures; “Okay, kids, say ‘cheese’.”
Each one of the
children was given a part.
They memorized lines ‘til they knew
them by heart.
But Sally forgot hers and wished she were
dead.
She pulled up her skirt and then covered her
head.
Then sweet, pregnant Mary appeared in
distress.
She’d carried a soccer ball inside her dress.
When
somebody pushed her, the ball dropped from view,
And little Lord
Jesus rolled under a pew.
And at the piano, so rigid and
tight,
Jon played his own version of “Silent Night.”
His tummy
was nervous, tied up in a bunch,
And when it was over, he lost
his whole lunch.
And two-year-old Jimmy, so young for his
age,
Wandered around. (‘Twas his first time on stage.)
A
bright copper urn he mistook for a pot
And what he did next;
well, I thnk I forgot.
The Sunday School choir all wore robes
of pure white,
With big bows of red; what an angelic sight.
No
choir on earth had a sound quite so dear
As moms surreptitiously
dabbed at a tear.
The pastor was given a big Christmas
check.
His wife usually got only hugs ‘round her neck.
The
deacons had bought so much candy and fruit
We needed a truck just
to lug home our loot.
And when it was over, our teachers we’d
hear:
“Thank God this is held only one time each year.
Perhaps
if we rest, read our Bibles and pray,
We’ll halfway recover
before Christmas Day.”
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