Waiting for Christmas

(Re-posted from June10, 2011.  Still waiting.)

I wait.

I wait for the tinsel, aluminum, flocked and fluffed trees to come down,
and the bulbs on the rotating lights to burn out.

I wait for the evergreen to grow brown on the tips
and the holly berries to fall with the stale popcorn on the sheeted carpet.

And I wait for the paper and ribbon and tape
to decorate the interior of 400 million American trash cans.

and I am dreaming of a re-birth of caring.

I wait for the 2,000 cards to fall off the wall
and the divinity to dry out and be thrown away
with the five unopened fruit cakes.

And I wait for the dissonant amen of the shaky rendition of Messiah
to finally echo off the wreath-strewn, candle-lit walls of the church.

I wait for the bell-ringing Santa to count up his pennies
and go home and take down his $500 dollar multi-colored
wall-to-wall house lights.

and I am constantly dreaming of a re-birth of caring.

I wait for the wassail to grow ferment
and the piped-in Bing Crosby carols to get scratched
and stuck in a groove.

And I wait for a time when Sears and Dillard's and Macy's deliver the bills
and we pay our penance for commercialized love.

I wait for the batteries to burn out on technocracy's toys
and children learn
to be bored and bitter and spoiled with the season of playing.

and I am constantly waiting and dreaming of a re-birth of caring.

I wait for the brightest of stars
to be unseen behind the colored floodlights on our buildings and trees.

And I wait for the chorus of angels
to be unheard outside our insulated, air conditioned, amplified
midnight church service.

And I wait for a group of lower class shepherds
to catch all our fathers assembling bicycles, tricycles, swing sets and trains.

And I wait for three intellectuals
to barge in on our turkey dinners with news we don't want to hear.

And I wait for some anonymous Mary
to bear a savior
who will lead us away from institutionalized giving
and into a world where Christmas is not what it is,

But a constant re-birth of caring.