I haven't written a poem in a very long time
And I've been trying to figure out why.
I used to think if I didn't write every day,
I might as well just lay down and die.
It isn't that I have been feeling uninspired.
The sea's always overflowing that shore.
And I haven't run out of things I want to say.
I'm as opinionated as ever, if not more.
But these days, I write only when necessary.
I only find time every now and then.
It seems I need to be ecstatic or heartbroken
Before I start spinning rhymes again.
This would fall into the heartbreak category.
You see, I read something yesterday
And it's been breaking my heart ever since.
This sad feeling just won't go away.
It didn't even make the paper's front page.
Nobody I know talked about it at all.
They didn't cover it on the six o'clock news.
Just another tree nobody heard fall.
"Hollywood Christmas Parade is a Wrap"
Was all the back page headline read.
I know, the world has a lot of problems.
I should write about them, instead.
But something about it really bothers me.
I loved that parade when I was a kid.
Nothing excited me and my brother more
Than that silly old parade once did.
My family lived by the beach back then
And Hollywood seemed so far away.
My mother would dress us like eskimos.
As dad warmed up the old Chevrolet.
The half hour drive along the 10 freeway
Nearly drove me and my brother mad.
Repeatedly chanting, "Are we there yet?"
Tormenting my patient, dear ol' dad.
A few more winding miles through the city
And Hollywood Boulevard would appear.
An explosion of color and light and sound
Overflowing with joy and holiday cheer.
I knew that I'd see all of my favorite actors.
Waving, smiling and saying hello to me!
They were all golden then, bigger than life,
And they helped me decide who I would be.
But what excited me even more than actors,
What really made me shiver and tingle
Was waiting for a view of the Big Guy himself . . .
Father Christmas! Santa Claus! Kris Kringle!
In a sleigh led by reindeer, he'd end the parade.
I couldn't believe he was actually there!
It was a night bursting with wonder and magic
There was nothing else like it anywhere.
The parade died from simple lack of interest.
That's what the newspaper article said.
It just didn't attract the big stars anymore
Who now go to Hawaii or Aspen instead.
There were a lot of other reasons, of course,
Like less TV coverage and lower revenues
But I still think we're all much poorer now.
A wholesome tradition is a shame to lose.
Greater stars in a better age rode in the parade
Wayne, Stewart and Hope, to name a few.
Apparently, they had a greater sense of gratitude
Than the current crop of "superstars" do.
I hear it all the time from the old folks I know,
Movies and America aren't the same today.
They saw the best of it. They feel sorry for me.
Like the end of the parade, it's all going away.
But the ones I feel sorry for more than myself
Are the children who'll never see what I did -
A parade of real stars on Hollywood Boulevard
And Santa Claus through the eyes of a kid.
Adding your comment:
You should be heart broken or ecstatic more often, have missed you lots 
It was nice hearing from you too. 
Heyyy...who's that guy on my comment??? 
MARK, IT'S ME. NIGHT HOPE. WANDA. 
Sighhh...I hadn't heard, Mark...This is such a loss...Of course, I never saw it myself, but I know what you're saying, my Friend...I always loved the calvacade of stars & any program that had an ensemble cast of my favorites...Grand penning, Sweetie...I knew I hadn't seen one from you in awhile...Glad I was here for this one, dear Scribe...Thanks for always keeping a close, discerning eye upon our cultural icons & events...
