ideally (Isaiah 9:1-4)

we would carry
      the Light
   into the shadowed
            corners
         rather
   than sticking it all
   on a tree
      once a year;

we would
      distich
   ourselves to others,
         rather
   than piling on
             more
      than they can handle
           alone;

we would take
      all the ways and means
      in which we harm
         people (including
   those holier-than-thou
               shirts
      off our backs) and
         use it all
   as fuel to warm
   the lives of those
            we despise.

(c) 2014 Thom M. Shuman