The Tougher Side Of Christmas
By Venti Clavos
A lonely tear did slowly creep down
his tender cheek this day, With the
tattered sleeve of his flour bag shirt he
wiped that tear away.
O Lord so kind, he prayed as he
doggedly paddled on,
On this blessed day, O God, my Lord,
help me to catch one,
Just one fair one, dear Lord,
to carry home and bake
For my dear sweet Mom, and my
brother Jim and little baby Jake.
His mother in a small shack on
a grass mat feebly lay
With aching heart and painfilled eyes
watching the baby play
With a string of horse-eye seeds the
boy had found at sea.
Jim kneeling by the fire warming the
last of the seaweed tea
In his little voice saying, “Mom, we
should thank the Lord, I feel
That on this day, baby, at least, will
have a meal.”
He paddled on from early morn
till late the afternoon,
Without losing faith and hope, praying
softly soon, how soon.
And as he paddled he fancied
the sea beneath him say,
No way, no way, my lad,
no fish for you today.
Closing his eyes, he whispered,
Lord, not for my sake,
But for dear Mom, and Jim and little
baby Jake.
His bones were so weary and oh,
his back did ache,
But for the need of his loved ones he
just couldn’t break.
He kept on a-paddling and,
trolling all day,
Praying, dear Lord,
help me feed my loved ones today.
Could be that the Lord heard
the cries of the boy,
And decided in His wisdom to give
him some joy.
Bobbing and heaving, slowly coming
over the reef,
A carton was floating from some ship
that had come to grief.
Still paddling and praying,
his eyes opened wide
When a carton of canned ham
bumped his canoe’s side.
He stood up amid-ship and in a low
voice did say,
I thank you, Lord Jesus,
and Happy Birthday:
He found power from within to
paddle faster ashore,
Shouting in joy as he flung
open the door.
Merry Christmas, Mom, and
Jim and Jake,
Then Jim came up crying in a voice
that in sorrow did quake,
Mom said to tell you Merry Christmas and to say,
That she’s gone to meet Jesus on this Christmas Day.
MERRY CHRISTMAS, BILL,
FROM ME AND BABY JAKE.
- Poem originally published in Fun and Games Magazine 1979 (Evan X Hyde) – Compilation Copyright 2011 Belize.com Ltd.
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