Do you remember when you believed for fun?

We used to gather
in front of the hearth,
you had to be careful,
it could chip a tooth,
to yell our wishes
up the chimney
to Santa

We were lucky,
he seemed to hear
some of what we said,
and we knew
that not everyone
had a hearth,
nor a chimney

We continued to
beg for forgiveness
and reward,
long after
the smallest of us
knew that no one
could squeeze past
the flue,

because it was
so wonderful
to believe
together