The Missing Christmas Spirit

When I woke up this morning

I knew something was wrong,

It was the day before Christmas

And my Christmas spirit was gone.

Gone like the darkness at morning's first light

My spirit had left me sometime in the night.

Left me alone to wonder but why

And what hurts the most is it never said, "Bye."

There were big ones and small ones,

short ones and tall,

the round one I think was a basketball.

There were some that squeaked,

and some that burped.

This one tweaked and that one chirped.

I heard a bell ring and an elephant sing,

And a giraffe that didn’t do anything.

But last night was last night, when the spirit was here.

And the morning is now, with the spirit nowhere.

With Christmas just one day away,

I must find the spirit

and find it today.

So I jumped out of bed,

I had no time to lose.

I threw on my clothes and tied up my shoes.

Without hitting a step,

I leaped down to the kitchen,

where mother was cooking,

fresh biscuits and bacon.

Mother," I cried,

"I have news you must hear!

The Christmas spirit has left me

and I'm wondering to where!

Perhaps you can tell me,

where the spirit has been,

so it will seem like Christmas again!"

Mother started to laugh,

then she said with a smile,

"Your spirit's not missing,

It's just gone for awhile!"

She gave me hug,

and with her face full of tears,

she put her hand on her heart,

and said, "The spirit is here."

The spirit is where?

I thought to myself,

perhaps it is hiding,

somewhere in the house!

So I searched in my bedroom,

under my bed,

I searched under the hat

on Uncle Fred's head.

I searched all the closets,

the cabinets  too,

I even searched in my dad's old running shoes.

I searched from the attic,

to the cellar below.

And when I finished my search

I still did not know.

I decided to call my best friend Steve.

He lived across the street from me.

"Steve," I said as he answered the phone,

"My Christmas spirit has left me and I feel so alone."

Steve started to laugh,

then said, "Do not fear.

Your Christmas Spirit," my friend,

"is over here!"

Dropping the phone,

I ran to Steve's home,

I hated this feeling of being alone.

I knocked on Steve's door,

and he let me in.

Before I could speak,

Steve said with a grin,

"I believe this is where,

your Christmas spirit has been."

We walked into the room,

where his Christmas tree stood.

A sad little tree,

a small piece of wood,

the tree was no bigger

than an oversized twig.

But to my best friend Steve

it was bigger than big.

"Steve", I said,

"The spirit's not here.

I see not a present anywhere.

And what is Christmas without the gifts?

It's like blowing out candles,

without making a wish.

It's like riding a bike,

without any wheels.

It's like patting a dog,

who hasn't a tail."

Then Steve reached down behind the tree,

and picked up a present

I did not see.

The only present under the tree,

my best friend Steve gave to me.

And what happened next is hard to describe,

something wonderful, magical, happened inside.

For at that moment I seem to recall,

the spirit wasn't about presents at all.

The spirit of Christmas was not found in a thing!

The spirit of Christmas was found in giving!

That night I thought about my best friend Steve,

and how not a present

sat under his tree.

So I went down to the room,

where the Christmas tree stood.

And I knew that I should,

I took every present under the tree,

every present addressed to me,

I put every present in a big sack,

and I threw that big sack

Over my back.

I flew to Steve's house,

never touching the ground.

And as Steve slept,

I made not a sound.

I placed every gift under his tree,

every gift that was once meant for me.

And I addressed each gift,

Because I did feel it,

To my best friend Steve,

From the Christmas Spirit.