A view from under the pew: what s so good about black friday question mark here

Editor’s note: Amos is a churchmouse, who types by hopping on the computer keyboard, but he can’t operate the capital shift keys, and he shuns punctuation marks – except dashes and hyphens.

what s so good about

black friday

question mark here

boss it s the day after

thanksgiving and methinks

the church pew underworld

has lost its christianity – or

at least its pleasantries and

common gratitude

i was checking on

the specials at sara

spider s underground

discount store today the

day after thanksgiving

the moment i stepped

from my snugly warm

little matchbox i knew

the rat race was on

crows and magpies were

standing on street

corners hawking their

christmas wares

ratty raccoons and

persnickety pack rats

hornswaggled and hoarded

trash and treasures alike

and not only that boss

swarms of locusts

grasshoppers lady bugs and

other insects crowded

the bugtussle mall

fur feathers frocks and

flying parts were scattered

in every direction

i tell you boss christmas

was lost somewhere

in the shuffle

all i wanted was a

tiny little red flashing

light to decorate the

top of my christmas

tree sprig propped

against my little

matchbox home that s

all i needed boss

but what a mess

i was bounced

bumped thumped

shoved and submarined

mostly by a couple of

horned toads

and some loudmouthed

floppy-eared dog trounced

all over my tail

i started to pout

but i wanted to shout

let me outta here what s

it all about anyway

just then sammy

salamander came

wiggling his way

through the crowd

follow me he said

but i can t wiggle

anything except

my head i said

cause my tail is dead

never mind that he

said just go where i

go and be sure

to watch your toes

we wiggled away

far from the mall

to a lonely tableau

under the stars a

manger scene so alone

but right in the

heart of the town

of bugtussle

jenny my next door

neighbor was playing

mary and willifred the

white rat was joseph

freddy flea played the

role of baby jesus

virgil the praying

mantis was a shepherd

robin redjoy oliver owl

and rawley eagle were the

wise men and louie the

songdog was a cow

this is a crazy scene says i

why the strange garb the fuss

and the weird ceremony -

and all of it so far away

from the malling crowd

what s so all-fired important

you had to drag me away

from my tiny little red

flashing light for my

christmas tree sprig

sammy just looked at me and

smiled that all-knowing

salamander smile and said

you wanted to know about

christmas - you re standing

at the very heart of its

mystery and miracle right now

the birth of god s very own

son said louie most reverently

and you know what boss

a sweet gentle peace settled

over my little trampled soul

amos