Candies and cakes.
Eggnog too.
Turkey, ham, and stuffing.
Pumpkin pie.
Gingerbread and chocolate fudge.
Family and friends.
A warm fire.
Dancing flames.
Sizzling cedar logs.
Stockings hanging from above.
Family dog.
Sleeping at their feet.
Cookies and milk.
Kids laugh and squeal.
Silent wishes and hopeful dreams.
Home.
Surrounded by those I love.
How I long to be there.
Pepper spray and handcuffs.
Puking smelly drunks.
Radios and TASERS.
Spouses, battered and bruised.
Black eyes and broken bones.
Tiny tots and tears.
Drug dealers and thieves.
Sad, pitiful kids.
No toys.
No place to sleep.
Home.
Surrounded by those I love.
How I long to be there.
Crack pipes burning.
No food, no heat.
Gunshots and stabbings.
Car crashes and suicides.
Ambulances, hospitals, and morgues.
Crying.
Hurting.
Bleeding.
Dying.
Gone.
Home.
Thankful that I have one.
Aren’t you?
Please, give your kids an extra hug this year.
