Cheers Poem by Charles Lara

I stood in the living room
near the decorated tree
as a steady snow danced
outside the windows.
The scent of the dying
spruce filled up the house
and I waited for
my three year old son
to wake and unwrap
the season of Christmas.
The quiet morning
made the cat yawn
before the tiny footsteps
made their way down the stairs.
My son held his blanket
and struggled to
wipe off the sleep
from his face.
I greeted him a Merry Morning
and he smiled as he saw
the bundle of presents
under the tree.
The needles from the branches
continued to fall
and he brushed them off
before he tore off the wrapping
and pulled out a game
that didn’t require batteries
only a hard drive and monitor.
“ This is great, ” he proclaimed.
Then he picked up another
and tore at it quickly
as the sleep disappeared
from his small angelic face.
I watched him open another
present and then I went into
the kitchen to get some water
to place in the base of the tree.
I entered the room
and my son was pushing a toy car
so I went over to the tree
and placed the water onto the base
but the needles continued to fall
it was too late for it to drink
to the happiness of childhhood.