OUR CHRISTMAS CAROL
We named you for the season but we did not
Know what elfin influence your name would bestow,
For as we came to learn in later years
You were the mischief maker in the family
Who dared your younger brother to walk buck
Naked in the snow to the wall and back,
Enticed your younger sister to taste a little
Temptingly sweet-smelling acrid vanilla
And your baby sister to try a bite of dog fare.
Treasure hunts in the mossy clearing were your
Work and forced marches down our gravel drive.
Big sister led her siblings a merry chase
For which she has long since been forgiven because
She also led them to Bye Bye Miss American Pie.
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