“April is the cruelest month”,
but December ain’t that easy either.
At AA meetings,
the litanies begin,
“I don’t know how I’m going to make it through the holidays”,

and the person who has lost a loved one
nods in assent.

The lonely
look at the crowds
of merrymakers,
feeling left out

and the yearly battles
begin again,
starting even before black Friday,
as far back
as Halloween.

Merry Christmas,
Happy Holidays.
Hanukkah, Kwanza
Solstice, Saturnalia.

The advertisers offer their balm.
If you buy this item,
you’ll have friends
and be happy,

but the monks and mystics
focus on Advent,
a period of quiet expectation
before the incarnation
a time drowned out
by the marketing madness.