Christmas Eve

If I scratched at your door on this eve of Christmas
As the snow blankets the ground
And my paws numb from frostbite
Would you acknowledge my presence
I see you by the fire’s light
Your children asleep
Dreaming of St. Nick., candy canes, toys and trinkets

If I cried loud enough would you open the door?
Or turn up the television?
By the way have you found my daughter?
I left her on your doorstep
Hoping you could provide a better life for her
She kept asking what had become of her three brothers
How could I look at her
Tell her I gently covered them with hay in the old barn up the road
That I left them alone a minute too long
And old man Winter claimed them on this festive eve of Christmas

Won’t you please acknowledge me
Just this once
Pray tell she has not gone off wandering alone
That she is sleeping by the fire
That dreams of reindeer bells and sleigh rides
Fill her tiny feral heart with the magic of this world
That I as a mother failed to teach them

I thought I saw the twitch of a tiny grey ear snuggled warm on the duvet
Is this my only child left? Have you given her sanctuary?
But to my dismay
In a tiny snow drift where flowers bloom each year
A tiny frozen paw reaching out for her momma’s touch