brand new morning
brand new footprints
in brand new snow
white keys
I tap out
Jingle Bells
to the rhythm
of new snowflakes
city complex
the morgue decorated
in Christmas lights
walking downtown
at four in the morning
so quiet I can hear
the Christmas lights
clicking and buzzing
Walmart greeter
both of us
almost pretend
to look at each other
when we say hi
Walmart associate
tells me I can find Jesus
next to electronics
Walmart
dad gives up
trying to find everyone
and watches the game
on a wall of TVs
frost on the inside
of the window
I write "Peace"
with my finger
backwards
the blurred picture
of a butterfly...
a little warmer now
I wake her
to show her the snow
but she goes back
to her dreams
and falling falling...
Bourbon Street
the night we kissed
so passionately
and the snow clouds
threw Mardi Gras beads
Big Easy
the snow falls
like powdered sugar
from fresh beignets
into the Mississippi
driving back
from visiting a friend
to see her new baby
I follow the brightest star
all the way home
the strand of tinsel
stuck to your sleeve
without you knowing
as you sleep next to me
the whole way home
the glass bottles
in the bottom
of the homeless woman's cart
sound like sleigh bells
as she makes her way past
last minute
Christmas decorations...
new snow
my old drunk neighbor
who likes to give me grief
I pack a snowball
and hold it in my hand
until my fingers get cold
on the muddy floor
of the uptown bus
the shiny red ribbon
everyone's careful
to step around
on my back
in the front yard
with my arms out
magic gloves to the sky
making the snow rise
cardboard box
tangling the Christmas lights
for next year