Sounding grateful

 Three days before Christmas,

I took a picture of someone’s head in the bar

and said: “your head looks like Sherwood Forest

 with some serious deforestation taking place."

it was best, I advised, he made it bushy green!

“You want to spoil my Christmas?”  

I said ,“no, it is a Christmas gift.”

he patted me on the back and left.

It was just three or four hours to lunch,
when we took a dog for a walk.
as Bertie sniffs some wet grass we took  more pictures,
as we begin to come back home, our minds ring:

Turkey, sausages, cabbages and chicken soup
 to dip into warm homemade brown bread.

When we sat over table to open gifts
my friend got as a gift an iron  bronze
 in the image of man, holding a spear
 this  is contrasted with a wooden dolphin.

when I opened my box
I got red winter cuffs, matched

 with a warm woollen Scottish scarf,

a white envelope with these words:

 ‘good luck with your studies!’

and then a pack of chillis
and a book on Sudanese history.

  

In Wales, I received a warm winter shirt

 With Kangaroo pockets, a winter coat

With cat furs and some more quids
Then my holiday ended with a simple abuse

 From a drunk sweet looking lady, sprawled on

 the wet toilet floor of the local Welsh bar:

“Piss quick and go to hell!”

She stood up and blew,

Cigarette smoke into my face.

“Are you playing with me?” 

 “No. It is your late secret Santa.”