We pass the cave-glow
of a hundred front rooms,
to the place where a pine tree
lights the first star.
It’s Christmas also down by the river,
where ice-cream van carols
pour into the darkness.
There, lit in two dimensions:
a fat Santa, frozen
in a bumpy ride,
(kangaroos
instead of reindeer).
By popular demand,
Jesus and his manger
are off to one side.
An echidna, a wombat
and a platypus bring
their various gifts.
At least that’s what
they’re meant to be doing—
is it the joy of their delirium
that makes it look
so much like looting?
Anyway,
we liked it.