'TIS THE SEASON TO BE SHOPPING
(OR THE RETURN OF THE MAN IN RED)

All the angels, all the demons
Kept on dancing, laughing, singing
In the depths of my despair,
In the darkness of my mind.

All the angels, all the demons,
All the stars that I've dreaming
Seemed to mock me and entrance me,
Always laughing, always dancing.

Then I had a thought or maybe
An explosion of desire
And I felt I was on fire,
Thinking loudly of you.
And I said: "Me love, me dear,
Can ye feel it, can ye hear
All the angels, all the demons,
Dancing deep inside me mind?"

And you said: "My honey bunny,
Are you crazy?--you're acting funny,
You've been drinking much too early--
All I hear is hurly-burly,
Hurly-burly, whirly-swirly
Of the cold November wind,
Won't you open the window,
Honey bunny, raise those blinds."

And I opened the window,
Looking at this ghost town
With its angels and its demons,
With its sirens loudly screaming,
With its homeless drunk and dreaming
On this chilly afternoon.

And I screamed out of the window:
"Hurry up and buy the trinkets,
That the drunken Santa brought you,
'Tis the season to be shopping
For a trollop of yer choice!
May yer eyes and ears be open,
May yer mouths be always hoping
For that slice of some Big Pie--
Yes, I know I've been drinking,
But, me comrades, I've been thinking
Santa Klaus is Karl Marx!--
Say good-bye to yer oppression,
Say good-bye to yer depression,
No Prozac--revolution is the gift
That Santa brings!"

And the angels, and the demons,
And the drunken bums did sing!
 

                               November 18, 2000
                            --Alexander Shaumyan