Poems by Kathy J. Parenteau

Five more days till Christmas.
Santa and his crew
were working overtime making
children's dreams come true.

Singing carols, whistling tunes,
as the hours ticked away,
except for little Edison,
the elf that went astray.

Instead of making toys
in Santa's assembly line,
he was hanging out with Rudolph
beneath the snow capped pines.

As Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus took
a look around,
they noticed lazy Edison
was nowhere to be found.

They decided they'd had enough;
this elf will surely be fired.
Scratched their heads and
realized another must be hired.

Dasher heard them talking
and thought this can't be so.
Never in elf's history has
someone had to go.

He searched the winter wonderland,
and under the Northern Lights
Edison and Rudolph were
frolicking in flight.

He said, "Come down from there;
your behavior's a disgrace.
Christmas Eve is almost here and
you're about to be replaced."

Edison soon realized his days
of slacking were done,
that there'd be consequences
for goofing off and having fun.

He knew he had no place to go
if Santa didn't let him stay.
His heart began to pound
as Rudolph ran away.

He hurried as fast as he could
to tell Santa he was wrong,
beg him for forgiveness
and show him he belonged.

As the other elves were caroling,
he tried to sneak inside,
but Santa saw him coming out of the
corner of his eye.

He placed his hands upon his hips
and firmly shook his head,
"What shall I do with you,
my elf?" Santa firmly said.

"I see you when you're sleeping.
I know when you're awake.
Did you not read your history book?"
he said for goodness sake!

Santa soon forgave him 'cause
his heart is made of gold,
and Edison became the
hardest worker I am told.

The moral of this story is
we all must do our part,
and jolly old St. Nick has always
had a heart.

Merry Christmas to all of you
on this holiest of days.
May all your dreams come true
as you gather and celebrate.