I lost it.

Somewhere beneath the packages and wrapping paper

Hiding under the mound of receipts

It should be there

Or did I leave it somewhere else?

Maybe under the newspaper filled with shades of doom

Perhaps under the feet of the thousands racing for a bargain

Could it be in the eyes of the countless sick and injured?

I looked there. I didn’t find it.

Is there a chance it lay over the homeless, shielding them from rain?

Or inside the cells of prisoners, trapped in guilt and pain.

I thought I saw a tiny tot, running around with it,

Bouncing it around with a smile fit for an elf

But I don’t think that one was mine.

It wasn’t at the returns counter

Or near the candy isle

I didn’t find it in my cup of eggnog

And I never saw it in my glass of wine

No one stuffed it in the turkey

And the lights outside don’t show a sign

It wasn’t included in the card I opened

And the carolers gave no hint

Santa didn’t have it

So, it can’t be in my stocking

I checked clear to the toe

Please, oh please, help me find it

I’m running out of time

I need my Christmas spirit

Before the midnight chime.