Santa Takes A Stand Poem by Bob LazzarAtwood

Santa grew discouraged
As he read his Christmas mail,
Several things the children asked for
Made him feel like he had failed.

Plastic guns and other weapons
Battleships and fighter planes,
Music with offensive lyrics
Lots of violent video games.

'What has happened, ' Santa sighed,
'To all the peaceful girls and boys,
Kids that longed for simple things
Like teddy bears and tinker toys.'

'Why are toys today so violent?
When did books and music change?
Where was I when all this happened?
When did Christmas get so strange? '

Well he thought about the problem
'til the day was nearly through,
And it suddenly occurred to him
Just what he had to do.

So he called his elves together
And he quieted the noise,
And he said 'From this day forward
We will make no violent toys! '

'No more guns and swords and sling-shots
No more games that deal with war,
There's already too much violence
I will not contribute more.'

'I've been silent for too long now
Things have gotten out of hand,
But we still can salvage Christmas
If you help me take a stand.'

Santa's words were met with cheering
And a round of loud applause,
As the elves together stood and yelled
'Hooray for Santa Claus! '

So they gathered up the violent toys
And threw them all away,
Then grabbed some quick replacement gifts
And packed them on the sleigh.

And Santa Claus delivered them
As planned on Christmas Eve,
And many children were surprised
To see what they received.

The kids who asked for guns and swords
Got flutes and clarinets,
The kids who wanted violent games
Were given painting sets.

The kids who wanted G.I. Joes
Got teddy bears instead,
And those who asked for video games
Got scooters, bikes and sleds.

A lot of kids were sad at first
And couldn't keep it hidden,
But over time they learned to love
The gifts that they'd been given.

When Santa finally got back home
He fed his hungry deer,
And in his heart he felt as good
As he had felt in in years.

His wife made Christmas dinner
And they ate with all the elves,
And everyone was quite content
And happy with themselves.

For Christmas is a time of peace
That's how it's always been,
And maybe now, with Santa's help,
It would be once again.

The End