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‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the halls,
Not a creature was stirring, but the mice in the walls.
Many children were nestled snug in their beds,
But no dreams of Christmas gifts danced in their heads.
No stockings were hung by the cold fireplace,
And a tree with wrapped boxes? Naught even a trace.
For this orphanage where I look after these tykes,
Can barely afford food, much less toys and bikes.
“Father Christmas” only comes to the girls and boys,
With rich, caring parents, and other such joys.
The kids who have nothing, and have known much sorrow,
Will get broken, donated junk to play with tomorrow.
But as I lay in my bed, I looked forward with hope,
For a new patron had come to help us all cope.
Earlier that Christmas Eve, a man came calling,
And found my modest children’s home enthralling.
He was himself little more than a kid,
No older than twenty, it wasn’t well hid.
He had messy black hair, and bright green eyes,
Behind round glasses, and he was skinny in size.
And above his brow, nearly lost in his hair,
Was a scar, shaped like lightning in the air.
I knew a grown orphan whenever I saw him,
And this man was it, clear in office lights dim.
But despite his youth, and humble upbringing,
The man made an offer that sent my heart ringing.
He had come into wealth, and wanted to give,
My children better lives than he got to live.
We signed our arrangements, and I shook his hand,
So happy and dizzy that I struggled to stand.
His help came too late to save the morning this Christmas,
But I was drifting to sleep hoping next year would be different.
When suddenly, a noise from the roof I heard,
A loud thud and clacking, surely not any bird.
I jumped out of bed, and followed the noise,
Hoping it wouldn’t wake the young girls and boys.
I came to the mess hall, and I’m not playing games,
When I say the cold, dead hearth burst into flames!
From up the chimney, I did see two boots poke out
And I clapped a hand on my mouth to stifle a shout!
The flames didn’t seem to touch him, and moving quick,
Into the room stepped the man himself, Saint Nick!
His fur coat, his sack, he looked just like the stories,
With his jiggling belly, as big as a lorry.
But before I could fathom this fairy tale sight,
We got our second surprise guest of the night.
One of Santa’s elves, with the classic pointed shoes,
Came soon after him out from the fireplace floo.
But she looked less like the pictures in old children’s books,
She seemed a normal young lady, with quite pretty looks.
She had flaming red hair, a mischievous grin,
She bounced with excitement as soon as she was in.
They shared a stifled giggle, then got to work,
While I stayed in the shadows to watch and lurk.
They each waved a stick, then they both did once more,
And suddenly our cheap plastic tree was no more!
A grand, fresh, real tree now stood there in its place,
With lights and baubles hung all over the place.
Then Nick flicked towards his bag, and towards this new fir,
Flew so many presents they rushed by in a blur!
There were new clothes, sweets, the latest hit toys,
All things we could never afford or enjoy.
I saw gadgets and gizmos, as seen on TV,
A stereo, a Playstation, and shelves of CDs.
They flicked towards our tables, all worn down and crude,
And out of thin air appeared plates of hot Christmas food.
With his duty performed, Nick reached for his snack,
The cookie and milk, the standard Santa tax.
With a laugh, his elf snatched it from under his nose,
Which drew a chuckle from me, and then I froze.
But it was too late, they heard and turned towards me,
And I let out a gasp at what I could see.
For the strangest part of this nightly intrusion,
Was a familiar sight, which was no illusion.
When I met Santa’s eye, it was the same bright green,
As the miracle patron I had earlier seen.
And on Santa’s head, poking from out of his cap,
Was that same lightning scar as that young rich chap.
But that couldn’t be this man who had come from the floo,
For the beard was clearly real, no costume with glue.
And real too were the wrinkles around his eyes,
Without magic, this look could be no disguise.
I saw Nick smile, then a wink in his eye,
And whispers behind me took me by surprise.
I turned and saw an awestruck crowd of my wards,
With eyes bright with wonder, mouths agape without words.
Our two guests put shushing fingers to their lips,
Then returned the way they came, up the chimney quick.
I once again heard the clacking up above,
The kids swarmed to the door, with nudges and shoves.
We all burst out into the freezing night air,
We looked to the roof, and instead of reindeer,
Santa’s sleigh was pulled by gruesome horse-like creatures,
Fleshless bones, with wings, and reptilian features.
But the children weren’t scared, and from what they called,
They saw the sleigh as attached to nothing at all.
Nick and the elf waved, then hopped into their seats,
He wrapped her in furs, and put a kiss to her cheek.
Then he took the reins, and bade the creatures to fly,
They pulled, flapped their wings, and took off to the sky.
But I heard him exclaim, ere they drove out of sight,
“Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”