December 26

(A Christmas Story, 1983, starring Peter
Billingsley as Ralphie. It is Christmas
morning and Ralphie is wearing one of
his presents. “Aunt Clara had for years
labored under the delusion that I was
not only perpetually four years old but
also a girl.”)

DECEMBER 26

A BB gun.
A model plane.
A basketball.
A ’lectric train.
A bicycle.
A cowboy hat.
A comic book.
A baseball bat.
A deck of cards.
A science kit.
A racing car.
A catcher’s mitt.
So that’s my list
of everything
that Santa Claus
forgot to bring.

~ Kenn Nesbitt, born 1962, American poet