Happy Holidays from My Family to Yours

’Twas two nights before Christmas, and as I slept in my bed,
Not a worry was stirring inside my tired head.
For our stockings were hung by our chimney with care,
And our tree was adored so that no spot was bare,
With popcorn on string and balls made of glass
And pictures of kids and bells made of brass.
There were presents all stacked underneath our grand tree,
For Kate and for Ben, Zach, Dex, and for me—
And even for Piper, our new faithful friend,
Who slept in the kitchen inside her dog pen.
Then from deep in my sleep, I heard a faint jingle,
A jingle that made all my fingers and toes tingle.
I knew in a moment it wasn’t St. Nick.
I threw back my covers and got to my feet quick.
I grabbed my bed lamp in lieu of a broom,
And quietly crept into the next room.
There in the darkness, I squinted to see,
Two beady eyes staring right back at me.
I took a step back, then stepped right back up,
Realizing those eyes were the eyes of a pup.
“Piper?” I said, then I turned on a light,
And saw her cute face, plus a terrible fright,
For all around Piper were things from our tree—
A snowman dismembered, a reindeer’s left ski,
The stripes off a zebra, the hat from a bear,
And a gingerbread man ripped off his red chair.
But for all the destruction, she ate not one present
(Though she left her own that was terribly fragrant).
So I scooped her right up and went into the kitchen,
Where I saw that the door to her pen was wide open.
With the mystery solved and true disaster averted,
I tidied up, relieved that no policed were alerted.
Then I went back to bed and muttered as I turned out the light,
“Happy Almost-Christmas to all, and to all a good night.”