Rejection
is a lesson fathers
rarely teach their sons.
Young men can learn
many manly things
but rejection…
that’s a topic
normally left untouched.
What can a father say
to a young pup when
he starts seeing girls
as more than icky beings,
when he starts
to poke out his chest,
trying to exhibit
some sort of confidence,
trying to outplay,
trying to outdress,
trying to outwhatever
the other young ones
in order to catch
a certain girl’s
attention.
But after all those
tactics of impression,
he hopes she notices
but she does nothing,
simply turning her back
and walking away.
What does a father say?
Does he tell his son
about all the girls
he failed to impress
or does he give
the little one space
and let him hurt alone
as he tries to get over her.
Rejection
is a hard lesson to teach.
No wonder it’s
a topic left untouched.
The man,
dressed as Santa Claus
walking in Southeast DC,
saw three babies
peering at him from a
window.
Pumped with holiday cheer,
he did what any Santa
would do.
He turned and waved, ready
to shout the traditional
festive greeting.
He said, “Merry…
but before he could say
“Christmas”, a sharp pain
cut through his upper
back,
hit with a pellet gun
blast.
The wound was minor,
the treatment was quick,
and the whole scene was
caught on video, Santa
saying, “Somebody shot
me.”
The police first thought
it was Scrooge and then
the Grinch, but neither
had
anything to do with
the shooting of Santa.
Residents came out to give
Santa hugs and well
wishes,
hoping some little bad
child
wouldn’t damper everyone’s
holiday spirit and keep
him
from coming back next
year.
Santa told them not to
worry,
he would be back to bring
good tidings and wish
everyone
a Merry Christmas.
