{"id":339,"date":"2011-12-19T14:18:25","date_gmt":"2011-12-19T14:18:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stashreport.com\/?p=339"},"modified":"2011-12-19T14:18:25","modified_gmt":"2011-12-19T14:18:25","slug":"x-mas-day-19-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stashreport.com\/?p=339","title":{"rendered":"X-Mas Day 19"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Fb-Button\"\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>
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The last several of my offerings<\/strong> have been, let\u2019s say, on the dark, backside of the Christmas holiday. The following is a brighter fable that deals with the goodness and friendship that this holiday engenders. This selection is pretty long but it reads fairly well. A turtle is (of course) the hero. Some of my close friends may see themselves parodied within this poem\u2026 see if you can pick yourselves out. Stash<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The Art Of The Gift: An Epic Poem<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tommy Turtle peeked out from his cozy shell.
\nThe morning sun shined brightly in his sleepy eyes.
\nSurveying the neighborhood he knew so well,
\nTom sensed that today would be one of surprise.<\/p>\n

He always felt he\u2019d been blessed with friends
\nBut sometimes he just didn\u2019t show it.
\nToday Tommy would make his amends…
\nHe loved his pals and they would know it.<\/p>\n

First, Tom jogged to the home of Sammy Snake…
\nThe small hole in the ground near the brook.
\nIntending to give his good pal a fair shake,
\nSneakers, colorfully wrapped, was what he took.<\/p>\n

Sammy was charmed, as always, by Tom\u2019s visit…
\nEven more so at the thought of a present.
\nWith excitement, Sam asked, \u201cWhat is it?\u201d
\n\u201cA surprise!\u201d Tom replied, his voice pleasant.<\/p>\n

Tearing the wrappings in an excited, snakey way,
\nSammy looked down, his tongue suddenly stilled.
\nThere was little he could think of to say…
\nWith tears, his tiny eyes suddenly filled.<\/p>\n

\u201cSneakers… how generous!\u201d said Sam, so gay.
\n(Though footless, there was no thought to ask why.)
\nThey hugged but there was no time to stay…
\nSam blew a quick kiss to Turtle, so shy.<\/p>\n

Tommy headed for the home of Roberta Raccoon.
\nShe had always been gentle and kind to him.
\nHe arrived at her hollow at quarter to noon
\nAnd there she stood, bushy tailed and trim.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow you doin\u2019 my honey?\u201d was Roberta\u2019s greeting.
\nThey had always been the very best of good friends.
\n\u201cRoberta, have you noticed that life is fleeting…\u201d
\n \u201cBefore you begin it, you\u2019re at your run\u2019s end…\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019ve arrived to say that I care about you.\u201d
\n\u201cBefore it\u2019s too late, I want to offer a token…\u201d
\n\u201cIt\u2019s warm and toasty and almost brand new…\u201d
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a fur coat… no, really, I\u2019m not jokin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now Roberta surely didn\u2019t need a fur coat.
\nShe had been born with one, as you well know…
\nBut Tom\u2019s gesture played a sweet note…
\nHis affection caused her heart to glow.<\/p>\n

Tommy now raced to the lair of Bernice Bear.
\nThey had been friends for forever and a day.
\nTogether, they shared a friendship, rare…
\nIn spring\u2019s warmth they would always play.<\/p>\n

For her, he had purchased a new pair of skis…
\nTo traverse forest hills, long and steep.
\nSadly, poor judgment came in threes,
\nAs winter was when Bernice would sleep.<\/p>\n

Bernice graciously accepted Tom\u2019s gift…
\nGiving him a hug he\u2019d never forget.
\nTommy felt his low spirits lift,
\nSoothing his conscience, once upset.<\/p>\n

Tommy returned to the welcome wet of his pond.
\nHis heart was full of sweet satisfaction.
\nHe\u2019d managed to strengthen friendship\u2019s bonds,
\nOnce weakened through his distraction.<\/p>\n

Now, this isn\u2019t a tale of how friends can be bought.
\nAs can be seen, each gift was incidental.
\nIt wasn\u2019t the present but the sweet thought,
\nThat made Tom\u2019s efforts so sentimental.<\/p>\n

The gang would always have been Tom\u2019s friends…
\nYou see, his real gift was one of the heart.
\nThe journey of true love never ends…
\nThough it\u2019s sometimes difficult to chart.<\/p>\n

Tommy eased into the still waters of his pool.
\nAs the moon danced across its smooth surface.
\nLittle Turtle savored the comfort and the cool…
\nIt was a satisfying end to his day of purpose.<\/p>\n

End<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The last several of my offerings have been, let\u2019s say, on the dark, backside of the Christmas holiday. The following is a brighter fable that deals with the goodness and friendship that this holiday engenders. This selection is pretty long … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stashreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stashreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stashreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stashreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stashreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=339"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/stashreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":343,"href":"https:\/\/stashreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339\/revisions\/343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stashreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stashreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stashreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}