Margarite Lind Bjelland
The troop of wooden soldiers standing staunchly in a row,
Were certain theirs would be the grandest show.
Santa looking back at all of their faces,
Prepared to take them swiftly through their paces.
Squaring his shoulders, he turned around,
Blew his whistle, then stomped the ground.
Stepping all in unison was a grand display,
Santa beaming, said to himself, 'Oh! What a day!'
Loudly he commanded: 'ALL EYESSSSS, RIGHT!'
It certainly was an impressive sight.
Even louder was the: 'SALUTE!!' command,
Each hat touched by a firm, strong hand.
Flags were flying proudly in the wind,
The multitude of glorious colors fit right in.
Then the marching band sent up a tremor,
And entered the field in a burst of splendor,
The ground shook when they began to play,
The problem was they were going the wrong way.
Their eyes stared right, and their steps were high,
The leader pointed his chin to the sky.
He twirled his baton way up in the air,
Of the impending collision he was unaware.
All the participants were only three feet tall,
Perhaps, not too much damage would be done after all.
Santa searched for his Mrs. in the stand,
And there she was looking very grand.
Why all the strange gestures? he didn't know,
He was too busy trying to get on with the show.
He had never seen such a lively crowd,
His troop of soldiers were doing him proud.
Why were the audience all waving the same way?
Seems they were trying to shoo him away.
Well, 'That certainly is gratitude,' he said in a huff,
'Can't they tell we've worked hard on this stuff?'
He thought he'd show them, and pack it in,
Never was a quitter so, he continued to grin.
Later, he thought he had figured it out,
If the music hadn't been so loud,
He would have heard the shout:
'LOOK! LOOK! LOOK - TOWARD THE LEFT,
WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU, ARE YOU DEAF?'
The meeting of the two caused quiet a mess,
The spectators all stood motionless.
Santa managed somehow to untangle himself,
Then shouted, 'Get control!' to the nearest Elf.
As the audience oooh'd and aaah'd,
They heard someone say: 'Oh! You're such a clod!'
Well, the parade was certainly a big disaster,
But, laughingly remembered for years ever after.
Although from then on, Santa made it very clear,
His troops - would always - bring up the rear.