Dashing through the snow on a bright red sled he goes carrying a sackful of berries to everyone he knows. Fa la la la la! Fa la la la la! He’s flying through the trees past sparkling evergreens to all the deer little girls and boys in their Christmas dreams. Fa la la la la! Fa la la la la! Fresh snowfall on the ground Christmas day is here deer families celebrating wishing to all good cheer! Fa la la la la! Fa la la la la...

All the images of Christmas past run together like the mix for some sumptuous fruit cake, from which the crumbs will scatter memories, trivial and momentous, garnished by the flow of years. Each crumb falling, out of any natural sequence, so that youth overrides childhood, middle-age falls ahead of youth. Yet childhood remains forever the most crystal-clear of Christmas images, and are relived—and relived. As all the cake...

The house stood at a high vista spot square with the cardinal points and with a clear view all around over the barbed wired fencing to pastures and other houses scattered across the landscape. The single story frame house was moved from its foundation just a short distance away as the crow flies. It had been the farm home of a working family out on a back road just a few miles south. The outside walls were covered with ta...

This night I write, Dear Santa Claus, Please do this for me, just because I love my fellow man this year, I see, A little bit more than presents for me.   Don’t bring me presents for Christmas this year, Don’t bring me kindness or bundles of cheer, Give all my gifts to those in need, And let your gift to me be a good deed.   Take all my sweaters to ol’ Good Will, Take all the toys to the poorer ones still. Bring your soul...

Any time of year in the south is normally hot, but the summer I turned eighteen, was as if Hades himself had come up from his depths and brought with him the skin scorching, water vaporizing torment to lay to waste on our little South Carolina town. I remember that summer with vivid detail as it was the summer my life would be drastically changed forever, and find a different course then what I’d mapped out for it as a ki...

The end of October was only a few days away and that meant so was the wedding of Carpenter and Holly. In Sinking Wells, the blacksmith known as Styles had just finished securing the packs on his mule."Kinda sorry to see ya go," the owner said."I have family matters that need my attention," Styles lied."If ya ever get the notion to return you will be welcome."Styles mounted his horse and the owner handed him the reins of t...

When I give, It's completely. My gifts never come with strings. I’m not one who keeps a ledger. When I give, I seek nothing in return. I give because,I’m me. I give because,I know what it’s like to be without. To cherish,But be ignored. To speak,But not be heard. To care, But not feel cared for in return. When I give, It’s because,I understand. It’s because, I know the value of love. A wounded heart, Won't stop me from gi...

Everyone has a gift to give, we need to accept that,sometimes it's wrapped in shitty paper,but a gift just the same. If we peel the outer layer away,beneath the stained cover you often find, the true beauty and the real gift. Gifts wrapped in used toilet paper, are not all that appealing to the eye,but are there to teach us something,not sure what but... Maybe we just need to close our eyes,plug our noses,put on rubber gl...

"It's not what it looks like," she said. The girl’s parents stared in horror at what had, the night before, been a festive and lovingly arranged assortment of gifts under the tree. "But...but why?" Father reached down and examined a piece of shattered dollhouse while Mother wept. "My teacher said some kids don't get any toys at Christmas." She swung the hammer like a baton as she spoke. "I thought you'd be proud—why're yo...

Reality is heavy  Duty is steep  Tell me a story  To help me sleep It doesn’t need a hero  A middle or an endJust start with the wordsAnd let us begin Give me fearAnd hate and painSometimes, cryingReleases the strain Make me laughAnd dance and singGet lost in the musicForget every damn thing Give me lovePassion that enduresIf only for one nightWhisper, “I’m yours" Lie if you must A tale is a taleThe bigger the betterThe l...

Is it possible to waste words  To have them fall from the sky  Like gifts  Perfect in their sacred  Profoundness  To feel the weight  Of their intensity  Grab at your heart  Coax tears  Create laughter  Take your hand  Lead you in the slowest of dances  Enlighten you with tales  That are yours  But not you  Give sounds  To the silent spaces  Between thought and action  Allowing you to breathe  While yet drowning  Giving y...

“Daddy, he is soooooooo beautiful!” my eight-year-old daughter Susie cooed. He was. The magnificent white unicorn was on his hind legs. His long mane was flowing, embedded diamonds in his horn twinkled in the moonlight, and his whinnying was reverberating throughout our family room. Susie was in my lap. Her gorgeous blue eyes were open wide and she was smiling from ear to ear.“I think there’s more coming, Hon,” I said to...

The Christmas Tree Low humidity. Twinkling lights on a dry tree. Teddy bears aflame. Mommy’s Legacy Timmy wanted toys. Mommy bought him three sweaters. Tim hates women now. Santa Slips Up Santa is aroof. Black ice on cold dark shingles. Splat goes Santa Claus! The Electronics Sale Big screens marked way down! Doors fly open, folks stampede. Some save. Others die. The Christmas Goose Strong drinks and laughter. Santa’s han...