A Christmas Present

A Christmas present
A small box tied with a bow
Mixed up in the remnants of torn wrapping paper
Kicked behind the tree
Forgotten

Amidst the excitement
Of opening the larger gifts
The pretty little box with the glossy red paper
Sees no light
In the shade of the tree

Her red bow
Still tied tightly
No hands reach for her
To open her up
She waits, sad, thinking she is forgotten

Breakfast is eaten
En masse the commotion huddles around the TV
To watch the game
A unified raucous
While the package is on no one's mind

Except, it is not that the small
Box with the neatly tied red bow
Is forgotten
Her time was not yet
Until now

She doesn't move as the discards of the morning
Are gathered, torn paper crinkling
An obnoxious noise
The hand that works gets closer
And one finger hooks on her bow

A tug, a slide across the floor
In hands that hesitate before moving
Finally freed of her bow and the glossy red paper
Her lid removed, her box finally opened
Relief