Happy Holidays by william lee sherwood

It was cold last night.

Every smart brass monkey in town had on a pair of lined jeans
Filled with pocket warmers

And there I was, like a forgotten lawn ornament
Perched under the skeletal remains of our back yard maple

For hours...

(Note! To LL. Bean, that parka I bought for the Green Bay game
is just the cat?s meow!!)

The moon was full but dim,
Shrouded in a gauze of very slowly moving cloud

Even so the old man was there and I thought if I were patient enough,
If I freed my mind from thoughts of short paychecks
And classrooms filled with emoting teens
And if I strained my bleary weary eyes hard enough,
I would find you there
Also
Beside the old man

The way I used to find you when we were kids.

But really, you were an Apollo flight away
Wearing your flannel body armor,
Tucked in our bed
Dreaming of Friday sales, return lines
And the relative status of Calvin Klein. .