glass breaks once
on the season of
giving
and caring about

the man in red
has been on binge
prying out tent stakes
deftly from the inside

dark work
in as much as darkness
enlightens
like a dull mallet

she comes hard
red mentions
HIS name
ever the jovial giver

he listens in the dark to the
benevolence of the new
he understands
and gifts her his tears

the man has been living
wherever your mom told
you he did when you were
young—for real

at times
he visits his insides
a hall of ugly mirrors
pointing to his obvious desire

born with it
feel the weight of these chains
a weight HE can not give
hard as he might try

the sticky gift
he sees every morning
and again at dark
a badge he can not purge

© Tom Watters  3/2/07