My Christmas Offering: A Poem (partly inspired by a thread on DU)

I went to a holiday party recently and we were asked to provide a poem for a "gift swap" (hey, I hang with writers). I had just had this conversation with my hubby about the odd things that ended up in our Nativity Scenes and then started a thread here, and found it wasn't just us. The idea tickled me, so I ran with it and came up with this bit of Christmas doggerel. You are welcome to share, but PM me and I'll give you my name to add. I'll be scarce for a couple of days but will check in.

Merry Christmas, All Y'all!


Nativity is where You Find it

Our family loves Christmas.
We love to deck the halls,
to trim the windows with bright lights
and many-colored balls.
We love the scent of gingerbread
and tinsel on the tree,
but everybody’s favorite
is the Holy Family.
The crèche has been among us
since the children first were born,
but with each new addition
it became a bit more worn,
til we lost the Baby Jesus
and without a second thought
Sister found a Weeble baby
and she placed it in the cot.
Then a Wise Man soon went missing,
and the Buddha took his place,
which made perfect sense to all of us,
with his beatific face.
The donkey became a unicorn,
and the angels in their flight
a pair of Chinese dragons,
and the Virgin, Rainbow Bright.
And the years and children multiplied
‘til the Nativity
was a thing of joy and wonder
underneath our Christmas tree.
An army of green soldiers
all stood guard ‘round Jesus’ bed,
and a tiny disco ball revolved
above the Savior’s head.
The shepherds carried candy canes.
and myrrh and frankincense
were soon replaced by Gummy Bears
and a bag of Junior Mints.
The older kids knew better,
having had more worldly days,
But Jenny, three, could only know
the way she had been raised.
So imagine her confusion
when we took her down to see
the grade school Christmas Pageant
and their own Nativity.
As the choir of children all sang out
the Silent, Holy Night,
a scream went up from where we sat
“Mama, they don’t got it right!
Where’s the snowman? Them’s not angels!
Where’s Mary’s unicorn?
That’s not how our Weeble Jesus looked
the day that he was born!”
And the crowded room got quiet
but for Jenny’s howling cries,
and the sudden burst of laughter
from the rest of our wild tribe.
But every ear was now upon us
and every pair of eyes,
and all too many looks of scorn
among the just surprised.
But Darling raised his hands and smiled,
and said to all the crowd
“Well, I guess if God loves everyone
substitutions are allowed .
And if you want to visit
we’ll be glad to show you all
how Mary rode a unicorn beneath a disco ball,
and we’ve plenty of hot chocolate
and a little bit of beer
so come one, come all to our place
and we’ll have some Christmas Cheer.
And as we herded out our brood
he called, “Y’all don’t be strangers,
‘cause you haven’t lived until you’ve heard
how we sing “Away in a Manger”!