Christmas Eve
It must have been around ten o’clock
at night on Christmas Eve
and I was staring out the small
north facing window at the end of my bed
What are you doing my brother asked
I’m looking out for Santa Claus I said
Oh little man number one he’s not gonna be
here for hours & number two he won’t step
foot in this house unless he knows everyone
inside is fast asleep
I remember crawling back under the covers
thinking how my brother must be full of shit
wondering how in the world I could ever
possibly fall to sleep
december two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jdubqca 
I figured it out when I saw white bandage tape holding his beard on this face. Then there was the matter of how could he be at 5 different stores at the same time. . Living in Florida, we did not have a chimney and I knew parents would not leave door unlocked. Then there was that hint of whiskey smell…