For the twelve days of Christmas,
we maxed out all the credit cards
that’s still remaining to be paid,
Turning to a new-year resolution
for a harsh March foreclosure end.
Undigested gluttony feeds the sewer rats,
while our fridges turn to garbage-bins
for fermenting delicacies we never liked.
Our lives have ceased to operate
as the batteries were not included.
The purple eggnog bruises fill the shelters,
and divorce-attorneys celebrate the aftermaths
of the twelve days of Christmas.
From Wikimedia Commons
Kerry invites us to replace words in various Christmas Book titles at toads. I think I’m safe from foreclosure this year.. so I look forward to a 2015 with lots of new challenges.
Björn Rudbergs writings 
Spending money we don’t have to buy trinkets that’ll be forgotten within a few weeks? Indeed an odd way to celebrate any holiday. Good poem. Paints a vivid picture of the binge and hangover effects of the holidays.
Twelve days is just too long. Love your gloomy twist on Christmas.
Wow! This tells it like it is. So much truth in the satire.
You depict the harsh reality of overspending well. So much better when we recognize “enough.” 🙂
‘our lives cease to operate , for the batteries were not included’….. beautifully put… that is the harsh reality
A jaundiced view but too true for some.
such a harsh reality. we should be mindful of the difference between wants and needs.
Happy holidays Bjorn!
Fun can be so cheap to obtain, while debt so difficult to be rid of.
This is really a different take on ‘the 12 days of Christmas.’ Quite a sad take, really…sigh. But I do know that the Christmas season is not always as happy on the inside as it appears to be on the outside. Ah, the new year is right around the corner.
Ah edgy, compact and packs a real punch
To fit in and follow in the footsteps of the collective will lead to this outcome.
The Christmas spendathon often does this to people, but then so do the Scroogely antics of bankers and other Krampus-like creatures. A bright Yule to you Bjorn, and a Happy, unforeclosed New Year!
Now, there is a poem with a twist. Happy Holidays my friends. May you always dance with the bear..
Ouch! Here’s the argument for more planning and more love throughout the holidays!
I so relate! A time of excess for the privileged, with the parallel reality of poverty just below the surface. Well done.
Oh dear! I have given up on Christmas buying to some degree though I do get dragged into it at the end! Have a wonderful Christmas, Bjorn and a very happy, healthy and creative new year. k.
Ah, yes. The grittiness we try to ignore during the holidays! No sugar coating here, haha! Merry Christmas to you, Bjorn 🙂
A seething satirical truth on the state of affairs this season in far too many homes 😦
haha you do have a sense of humor that seems to capture life in poetry 😉
When one gets overwhelmed, it’s time to stop and sort things out…you have the weapon, Bjorn, your satire shout in the target! ~ happy Holidays to you! Thanks for support and kindness x
Bjorn, Really no way to start the new year. Well written with dark humor.. — Suzanne
What sad places of existence you’ve described. A very important contrast to the perception of the holiday season.
The adverse effects of over-spending will hit home when one is most deprived. Very true in most circumstances. The holiday season is the most vulnerable! Great lines Bjorn!
Hank
yeah… batteries not included. those are expensive, too.
I like the line “for a harsh March foreclosure end” – it’s an interesting one to read out loud! So true how we (royal we, humans) spend so much on things that don’t really bring joy..
Awesome articulation of the season’s excesses – all the more unsettling, I think, as the holiday aftermath “blahs” descend.