Possibly due to the hustling and bustling of the Holiday Season,

The last-minute delivery deadlines came and went.

Each one of our doormat or mailbox-checks

Added to the lengthening queue

Of our ‘déjà-vu’ bitter disappointments.

 

What could be the reason? 

 

We had done our very best

To keep our names off the naughty list.

Why then would the Spirit of Christmas

Intentionally bypass our doorsteps,

Bereaving us of the joy-giving ornaments

Attached to Its lofty and translucent wrapping?

 

We felt singled-out, and our pain was severe.

Our tear ducts finally burst wide open

Giving way to Niagara Falls of cleansing saltiness

Unstoppably streaming down our forlorn physiognomies,

Turning our hurriedly applied concealers

Into a make-do watercolor palette of gray undertones.

 

Unlike the impatient little ones,

We had a late start on that day,

Taking naps after naps to speed the dial along.

Due to our loss of appetite,

We skipped breakfast, lunch, and dinner altogether.

 

Thoroughly emotionally drained,

We crawled early under the comforting covers

Of our bed unceremoniously left-undone,

Begging for the oblivion of a merciful slumber.

 

Our Christmas had morphed into Black Friday

Where our souls got mercilessly crucified.

We felt deep empathy for the loners and the forgotten of this world,

Drinking from the same chalice of sorrow,

And enduring the agony of their pent-up grief.

 

Eventually, a detectable sense of peace moved in,

Riding in on the coattail of this grueling storm,

And gloriously heralded by the brilliant outlines

Of a magnificent Crayola-colored double rainbow.

 

At last, the sun was smiling down at us,

Encrypting its hope-instilling message

On the foggy background of our tear-drenched canvass,

Personally, dispatching it down the smooth curve

Of the vibrant band of the eternal promise.

 

“There is always a brand-new tomorrow,” it read.

“Do not shred your dearest dreams!

The ones direly-tested through pain and suffering

Are meant to become my shining relay-stations of hope…”

 

Sure enough, a week or so later,

A contrite UPS employee rang our doorbell,

Profusely apologizing for the overdue delivery

And any undue grief it may have caused us.

 

Far from bearing the stigma of an entry on the Naughty List,

Our names had been submitted to be the recipients

Of a breakthrough technology—A priceless ‘prototype,’

Hurriedly penciled as a ‘gift’ on the stapled customs paperwork.

The Sender wished to remain anonymous,

But the postal seal disclosed the present originated from ‘High Places.’

 

We eagerly tore open the tiny package

Which contained a delicately enameled jewelry box

Within which—wonder of wonders,

Was nestled a high-tech new-age ‘App.’

That instantly self-downloaded in our open minds. 

Swiftly redirecting to the junk file any compromised programs,

Deleting them on the spot, never to be retrieved again.

 

This new app. came with rosy-tainted glasses

Adding to the vibrancy of our now 5-D reality.

Yes, it was well worth bearing the excruciating pain.

 

Far from qualifying it as a ‘Just-Because’ gift,

The delicately calligraphed message stated:

Here is a 'Because-I-love-You-So' token of My appreciation.

 

Written by Anyas,

Medford, Oregon, January 12, 2019