I thought of your tonight, Daddy,
being Santa, alone.
Smashing my thumb and surprised
to see the blood running
down the toy was my own.

I thought of you being Santa alone,
and the night I saw you packing
away Mama’s china and a life
you could no longer hold together,
alone.

I thought of you tonight, Daddy
and all the blood and time
that falls away in silence
and dries up in a vacuum.