Two men, not brothers
married two women, not sisters.
One man brother to one not-sister.
If you’re counting, that’s four in all.
Christmas means a family gathering
cousins and those two not-brothers,
Bob the wee man, wicked funny
Bud a big man, comic not,
Laughter, carols, dinner done,
friends and family sit to leave.
Expectantly they wait,
tittering they anticipate.
Bob and Bud step forth all clad
coats, galoshes, mufflers too.
But to hats the family looks
as Bob and Bud, snicker not.
Bob stands small, beside big Bud.
Simultaneously they seriously say,
We’re ready to go dears
as all guffaw at what they see.
Bud looks sheepishly at Bob.
Bob’s small hat sits daintily,
perched
on top of Bud’s big head.
Bob cannot see Bud,
his eyes covered by Bud’s big hat
sitting precariously balanced
atop two pencils
protruding from Bob’s ears!
Written for dVerse, the virtual pub for poets, where Mark Walters guest hosts Tuesday’s Poetics. He asks us to write humorously about something humorous from our lives. The Tale of the Hats is absolutely true! My Uncle Bob (very small head and a very fun-loving guy) and my dad, known as Bud, (a much more serious guy) exchanged hats every year at the end of our big Christmas gathering. Uncle Bob made sure he had two pencils in his coat and they’d come out looking absolutely ridiculous! No matter how many times they did this, we always laughed and laughed. Family lore now….I miss them both.
lillian the home poet 
Aw, that’s a wonderful Christmas memorial. It’s lovely how they entertained you all. Family gatherings are precious. Your poem is great too. It kind of winds around and meanders, making me wonder just who Bob and Bud are, until you reveal the story. That’s great!
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…and it’s a true story! My dad and my Uncle Bob. Miss them.
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😊
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Aww, what a funny and endearing Christmas tradition!
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Every Christmas all the cousins and aunts and uncles came to our house….always ended in this laughter and my dad and Uncle Bob exchanging hats from our front closet! 🙂 The hat sitting on the pencils was hilarious….otherwise it would have slipped down over his whole head. But my Uncle Bob’s pinhead small hat just perched on top of my dad’s head like a thimble was equally as funny!
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Nice memory of your father and uncle.
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Thanks, Frank. I smile always when I think of it!
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Awe… 😎🥀
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🙂
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What a funny pair of persons they must have been love it and the tone of it all…
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Thanks, Bjorn. Sometimes poetry writing becomes just a message to oneself, or a memory of oneself.
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What a fun time. I am sure the children will remember this forever!
Dwight
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Oh yes. It’s gone down in “family lore!” Just wish I could find an old photo of it somewhere!
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Thats a treasure of a happy and fun fmaily memory Lillian ~ Thanks for sharing ~
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Yes….as I mentioned to Bjorn….sometimes our poetry writing becomes an exercise of “diary writing” recalling personal memories. 🙂 Not the greatest poetry for others to read….but somehow special for us as we write it, right?
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What a sweet story!
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Thanks, Jo. It is treasured family lore! 🙂
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Aren’t memories wonderful! What a wonderful way to end a family gathering – with humor. 🙂
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They are indeed. I just wish I could dig up a photo of it somewhere. You’ve got me thinking now….especially with those wonderful photos of your grandmother. Think I will contact my cousins to see if any of them have come across a photo of this! 🙂
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Oh this is simply delightful and will no doubt be a family story for generations to come. Thank you for sharing it so vividly and with such good humor.
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