LIGHTING A MALL PALL     

Antlered,

belled, trimmed in red

– oversized poster glam

in a men’s wear store --

a lifeless image

modeling holiday hospitality

fostered, for those on the move,

the illusion

of cheer.    

Seated at a cafe’,

I returned the stare

inert.

A woman stooped to greet a child

then eagerly await

news of his day.

Her focused smile,

filtered through tangled hair,

decorated my Christmas holiday.

Dennis R. Keefe

April 29, 2008