World of Words: Poem of the week on a festive theme

I heard a noise in the garden

so I peered out through the frost

And sitting atop of the old, old pine

Was a fat fella looking lost.

“What do think your game is?”

being a little annoyed, I said

“It’s half-past-three, it’s Christmas Eve,

“and you got me out of bed”

But I helped him from his predicament

’cos I was full of Christmas cheer

He said “Phew, thanks, I’m all right now

“but I’ve lost Rudolf, my deer”

Well, we looked up into the darkness

and high among the shadowed limbs,

we saw a bright red shiny glow

He said, “There, look, that’s him.”

So I asked the obvious question

Silly of me, I suppose

“What is that bright red shiny thing?”

He answered: “That’s his nose”

We finally got things settled

Had a mince pie and a dram

When he decided to introduce himself

“I’m Santa Claus, I am.”

Of course I didn’t believe him

and suggested he went on his way

“No, I’m not going anywhere”, he said

“Until I find my sleigh”

So we searched around the garden

I was longing to get back to bed

when suddenly we spotted it

crashed behind the shed

So we fixed the bits and pieces

It looked as good as new

He harnessed up his Rudolf

waved, and off they flew

When I woke up in the morning

thinking what a dream I’d had

I strolled around the garden

and took a look behind the shed

There, just next to the ladders

was a large long narrow box

It was wrapped in fancy paper

with my name written on the top

I looked around suspiciously

then at the paper I tore

You see I was most excited

I’d never had a gift before

When I opened up the package

I got a lovely, lovely surprise

A steel, long-handled pruning saw

Right before my eyes

Now I can do what I’ve longed to do

For a long, long, long, long time

I can get up on my ladders

And prune that old, old pine.