A Forgotten Birthday

Children flaunt their greed
Before a fat, old, white-bearded man in a red suit,
Dispensing patience and good cheer
At a flat rate.
Monsters, machines, missiles,
Guns, games, grenades,
Dolls that wet, sweat,
Eat, sleep,
Walk, talk, sing, cry,
And bleed.

Snowflakes sift silently to earth
And are engulfed in the mire
Or are snatched by the torrents
And plunged into the sewer-abyss.
Churches loom against the gray sky,
Gaunt, lifeless, and cold.
Inside, another Doll, alone and ungarnished
Save for the gold of straw in its crib.
A forgotten birthday — empty, meaningless sadness.