Hi kiddos! I stumbled across an interesting poem this week in search of another poem entirely! I'm not even sure that the poem I was looking for exists in reality or if I just dreamed it, but I will keep up the search, as it relates to our Greek hero, Ody and his faithful wife, Penny. But until I uncover that poem, we will continue on with others. This poem makes me... well, maybe I'll let you read it and tell me what you think. It does relate to heroes in a very real sense, I think. Especially it reminds me of times that my heroes have let me down or that I mistakenly put my trust and faith in people who were not who I thought they were. I am interested in your thoughts.
As always, please comment with at least four sentences about the format and/or content of the poem. Say something! Remember all of the great poetic elements we talked about in class- metaphors, similes, personification, and imagery.
The Death of Santa Claus by Charles Webb
He's had the chest pains for weeks,
but the doctors don't make house
calls to the North Pole,
he's let his Blue Cross lapse,
blood tests make him faint,
hospital gowns always flap
open, waiting rooms upset
his stomach, and it's only
indigestion anyway, he thinks,
until, feeding the reindeer,
he feels as if a monster fist
has grabbed his heart and won't
stop squeezing. He can't
breathe, and the beautiful white
world he loves goes black,
and he drops on his jelly belly
in the snow and Mrs. Claus
tears out of the toy factory
wailing, and the elves wring
their little hands, and Rudolph's
nose blinks like a sad ambulance
light, and in a tract house
in Houston, Texas, I'm 8,
telling my mom that stupid
kids at school say Santa's a big
fake, and she sits with me
on our purple-flowered couch,
and takes my hand, tears
in her throat, the terrible
news rising in her eyes.
Happy Reading!
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I think this is a rather weird poem. It has a kind of depressing air about it. I don't exactly understand whether Santa had a heart attack or just what. I'm not sure what Webb was trying to show us here. Maybe he was saying that just because some people say things aren't real, that doesn't mean we have to believe them.
ReplyDeleteEmily Who Closes The Blinds
This poem makes me realize that all good things must come to an end. It kind of takes reality and punches you in the face with it. This poem is very depressing. It takes something everyone knows to be jolly and happy, and makes it the exact opposite.
ReplyDeletehello um..... this was a very creepy poem .... I like it alot because yeah everyone thinks that santa is so happy and life is not like that its realistic yeah , but yeah great poem liked it.
ReplyDeleteSARAH FOOSHANG
This poem was very dispressing. I wonder how the author came up with the idea. Anyway, I did like the part where it said Rudolph's nose blinks like a sad abulance. Even though this poem was sad, it kind of says that every good thing comes to an end.
ReplyDeleteThis poem was not a happy go lucky poem. It means not all happy things last. When people find out sad or angering serious problems it can really screw them up. Everyone has had something seriously bad happen to them like a family member dying and it feels bad.
ReplyDeleteThis poem was depressing! It almost made me believe in Santa Clause again (lol). Anyway, I liked it and I could see the message the author was trying to send. Everything, no matter how great and famous it is, has to die at some point in its life. This poem also emphasizes that there's nothing wrong with having an imagination. I liked the poem.
ReplyDelete-James Cannon
When I first read the title, I thought I would hate the poem, but I actually liked it. I thought this poem was very creative and unique. I thought that the author was thinking outside of the box when he wrote this. I also thought that the poem was very sad but very exciting at the same time. I enjoyed this poem.
ReplyDeleteVictoria Hayes
I was kind of confused by the poem. The ending was really confusing: why would the mom cry? It is kind of an ironic way for Santa to die. We all loved him as children for his weight problem and thats probably what led to his death. This reminds me of that Lipador commercial for some reason. Weird.......
ReplyDeleteI thought this poem was odd, and in a way unclear. However, I liked how the author used the simile that Rudolph's nose blinked like lights on an ambulance because I was able to better visualize the scene. Maybe the death of Santa is what the little kid is feeling about the truth that Santa is not real, or that is what his mother told him to keep him believing that Santa is not imaginary. I think that this poem is trying to say to keep your imagination alive no matter what people say.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a cute poem, because at some point in their lives, a child always finds out that there was no Santa, and it was just mommy or daddy putting the presents there, and eating the cookies. For me I was 7, and my dad had to go and be mean and ruin it for me, but he also told me something great that made it less difficult to deal with. At some point Santa was a real person, but only to a certain town, and it doesn't matter wheather or not the man is real, what really matters is that the spirit of Sanat is real, and still exsists today in every childs heart. I love how the figurative language played into this, because the entire poem was just a huge metaphor to say that he had found out that Santa wasn't real, it's sad, but I thought it was cute.
ReplyDelete-Aahlie Reane Gibson
This poem was very interesting and funny. I like the line about the monster grabbing Santa's heart. The poem was very descriptive and well written. I also enjoyed he comparison between siren and Rudolf's nose.
ReplyDeleteI did not like that this poem was depressing. I liked one thing about it and it was when it said the elves wring their hands, also when rudolphs nose blinked like a sad ambulance. I thought the poem meant that even good things will eventually come to an end. It made me sad when santa died and i almost started to feel bad about not believing in him.hahaha
ReplyDeleteKatlyn McAnally
This was really a sad poem. I never thought Santa could die. I guess this could be a message that good things never last. I still enjoyed it though, in a different way.
ReplyDeleteI liked the poem even though it was pretty sad. Some people believe in santa and some dont and for the ones who do it must be hard to read this. But death is life.
ReplyDeleteThis poem was really interestind, but still good. I liked that the poem was based on the little kid's point of view instead of an older person because it gives us a better view on what other people feel. I like when he says jelly belly because it's more discriptive and it rhymes which grabs my attention. The poem is also a bit depressing because in my opinion many people like Santa Claus, even though he's fictional. Good Poem!
ReplyDeleteChelsey A.
I thought this poem was kinda weird. Yeah I guess it was sad. I dont think I really liked this poem that much. My guess was that the person was sad the other person said that santa clause was fake. Not really liking the part about death.Daniel Taverna
ReplyDeleteThis poem was really creative and interesting.
ReplyDeleteI've never read such a good poem that has something really good to think about.
I also found it a little sad though because I think kids should believe in whatever they want to believe in, and shouldn't let other kids change that. Another thing I really liked is that it's sort of Christmas realated and I'm very excited about it coming so soon! :)
I like this poem but I didnt start to understand it until i got towards the middle. I know that he's g that Santa had a heart attack but why is where I'm puzzled. It may be because of the fact that people just don't believe in him anymore. I think his mom not necessarily believed in Santa but believed in the concept and for her to hear what the kids were telling her son, it made her sad.
ReplyDeleteI know this song had a meaning behind it but it was all very depressing anyways. It told us that all good things must eventually come to an end. The author used Santa Claus, I think, because he is such a powerful figure and it would mean more to use him than anyone else. He is loved by all people, whether they believe in him or not. I think this was a good, but depressing, story.
ReplyDeleteI thought this poem was sad a depressing. I don't really want to read about Santa dying and all of the kids calling him a big fake. Thats just depressing. But you cant have life without death. It was a kind of confusing poem, but i just dont understand why anyone would write about Santa dying. What if a little kid reads this, their life would be over!
ReplyDeleteMiranda Symons
This poem is a lot different from a normal Christmas peom. Normaly it would be about happy Elvs and presents but Santa has chest pains and drops dead. Then it describes it like a monster and Mrs. Clause running out and crying. Very depressing but very interesting. It does kind of take a reallistic approach on Christmas with all of the cookies he eats and running around.
ReplyDeleteI think the poem is a lot like the Odyssey and ody's journey home. The First few sections are like flash backs telling of heart problems and illness like the battles and challenges ody faces on his way home. The "stupid kid at school" is like antanis being a god despiser (or santa hater in this case.) The boy is like timmy and the mom is penny. basically i think that in the Odyssey this would be a visualization of when the penny and timmy were told that Odysseus was dead.
ReplyDeleteI have one thing to say about this poem. I have to say LAUGH OUT LOUD. I thought this poem was hilarious, with the way the author dude gives a descriptive detail of what jolly ol saint Nick and he makes you feel like you're really there witnessing the fat dude die.
ReplyDeleteOH My God this poem is really good actually somebody actually believes that santa claus is too old and died. I really liked this poem it shows description of the pains and hardships of santa claus which leads him to his death.
ReplyDeleteill give it 4 stars but not five because this is a really random topic and its not even christmas yet.
I think that this poem is a big twist on the characteristic we think of when santa enters our mind. In this poem santa is sad and sick, not happy and jolly.I feel that the auther was trying to get across that santa isnt real at all, just in a interesting way.Im slightly confused on the end of the poem, but what i get from it is that the mother is going to tell her son that santa is not real because he is dead.
ReplyDeleteHey, this was a really awesome poem. When I started to read, it sounded really wierd, but byt he time I got to the end, it all made senseto me. I like that the mom tried to use the excuse and tell the story that Santa had died, and that was why the kids at school said he didn't exist.
ReplyDeleteI think this poem is strange. At first I did not understand it but after I read it a couple times I understood it better. I thought the poem could have had been a lot better. The one from last week was better. I didnt think it was a normal poem about Christmes because normally santa does not die. I would have liked it if it was a happy poem about Christmas.
ReplyDelete~Courtney Allen~
I think that this poem is saying that all good things come to an end even when you dont want them to. I think that every one should have an opinion even on santa clause. I think that if you think he is real and one of your friends dosent then dont change your mind because he believes in something different. You should never change your beliefs because someone else has a different opionion on something.
ReplyDeleteJacob Jones
This poem was very diffrent but its a good idea to write about santa in a negative way. In my mind santa is immortal but this poem deals him the consquences of old age. But its clever the mom made this story to encourage santas exsistance.
ReplyDeleteI thought this poem was okay. But I did think that this poem was sad. I thought it was sad when he died, and that was kind of depressing. It didn't rhyme like the other poems, but I still thought it was pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteJulia A.
i didn't like this poem because i don't understand how santa clause can die. i would also like to know how he died did he have a heart attack or something. i wonder what it felt like when the child was in the waiting room and remember when the dude died. you know that will be something that he will remember for the rest of his life.
ReplyDeleteBY JOSHUA PUCKETT
SANTA ISN'T REAL?
ReplyDeleteI thought the poem was pretty depressing. If I was a little kid and i found out that Santa wasn't real this way i would be depressed and would have no Christmas Spirit for the rest of my life. This poem is good in a sense that it shows how a little kid feels when they find out something magical is not real . It is like somebody really close to them died , just like Santa Claus did in this poem.
Terah Gamble
i really think this poem was rather scary. More sad than scary actually. What I think this poem is about: life is hard, that good thing don't always last for ever. It was really sad, and i also agree that they always make Santa a happy person, even though hes not real, someone who's always happy has some difficulties at some part of their lives, it was really depresing, but it was kind of telling the truth, it's like they always say: The truth always hurts.
ReplyDeleteBY: EMELY RUIZ!!!!! (EM)
PERIOD 2!
I find this story slightly funny by the fact that Santas death was probably caused by the fact that he EATS TOO MANY COOKIES!! On the other hand i noticed that Santas death was also a way of explaining what happened to the authors feeling when he heard the truth about Santa. The issues Santa had at first was compared to the fact that the authors belief in Santa was slowly fading. When Santa dies it is compared to when the authors mom told him the truth about Santa. ^-^
ReplyDeleteI really didn't like the poem at all because when i was reading it, i though this was a hate poem. and i think that the kids who believes in santa would cry if they read this.
ReplyDeleteThis poem speaks to me about this little boy that grew up looking up to Santa as his "Hero". When he finds out Santa was not real "died", it was as if his hero had let him down. Of course Santa didn't mean to let him down because he is fictional, but it still makes the point that sometimes our heroes will let us down. I have found that out the hard way in my real life experience, but I realized on my own that it's okay to have multiple heroes and people to look up too.
ReplyDeleteokay wait a minute are you saying that SANTA isn't real.... JK i know that he is not real. Well i liked the story a lot and thought it was funny, sad, but very interesting to read. It was a story i wasn't expecting it to be like. You see i thought that it was going to be a story about how santa died, but actually it was how santa died in the little boys heart. When i was reading this story i remembered my mom telling me that santa wasn't real. It was a great story and i can't wait until Christmas gets here.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this poem because it's funny.
ReplyDeleteI like the line that says, "and he drops on his jelly belly.." I think that the best part of it is when the mom is going to tell her son that santa claus is not real and he acutually sees it coming. Anyways the point is this was a really good, but odd poem.
I agree with many of you that this poem is sad. It makes me nostalgic remembering how innocent I was as a child who believed in the person of Santa. I too remember the Christmas when I found out that Santa was more a spirit of generosity and love than an actual flesh and bones person. It was like a death in a way. I was shocked, could not believe this upsetting news. It took me a while to fully digest this revelation and I spent time thinking about previous Christmas Eves, trying to piece together exactly how my parents managed to be so good at keeping such a monumental secret! I do understand the hurt that the mother feels, knowing that she is about to end the innocence of her son.
ReplyDeleteI don't find the humor that some of you saw. Perhaps you can help me with that!
Thank you for all of your great comments! Keep up the good work.
I thought that this poem was rather a sad one. While I was reading this poem, I found a simile when the poem said Rudolph's nose blinks like a sad ambulance. I didn't get what Santa Claus had, but I kind of thought that he had a heart attack. It was also very sad when the mother had to tell her child about what happened to Santa Claus.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Simpson
The poem was great as far as details.This is crazy because it seems that you are saying santa is dead but he is not. I believe that kids should belive in him even though he's not real because the name of santa makes them happy. i liked the poem
ReplyDelete-Henry Hill-
I did not really understand this poem. It was very confusing, as well as depressing. I thought that this poem was hard to understand, and I kind of liked it. But I wish that the poem was a lot easier to understand.
ReplyDeleteI didnt like the poem. It was confusing. How is Santa going to die, and even in a make believe world how is he going to get sick? Also in the story the little boy was talking about how some kids at school said Santa is fake. Well if little kids know that Santa doesnt exist, then how come his mom beleives in Santa?
ReplyDelete-sara damas-
The poem was stupid. It seamed like that the mother was lying to her child so she doesn’t have to tell the truth, which is that there is no Santa. I get that the poem was about that even heroes can die and disappoint you but it seemed a little ridicules. The poem was a terrible poem and I would like to never read the poem again!!!
ReplyDelete~ Anthony Gelardi ~
Since "stupid" is not a word that we say in class, i think it would be best for us to refrain from using it in our comments. It is always fine to not appreciate a poem or to not enjoy it as much as others- different poems will speak to all of us in different ways. However, labeling a poem is not what I'm wanting us to do with our poems and I'm afraid that is a great way to shut down conversation instead of promote conversation which is what this blog is designed to do!
ReplyDeleteAgain, be sure and give good reasons behind your reactions to any poem and comment on the format, literary elements, figurative language, or the content of the poem!
Happy reading!
I didn't like this poem! It was pretty depressing how Santa died. Santa is like the Christmas ledgend, he can't just die! What was Webb thinking? I didn't really get the the end though. I don't get where the little kid talking to their mom came out of the poem.
ReplyDeleteNo Santa is dead that is going to ruin Christmas. Who is going to do it now, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, Mrs. Claus??? That means all the little children around the world are going to miss out on the joy of Christmas.I wonder if there will ever be another Santa?
ReplyDeleteJoseph Lawton
Wow this poem really killed my pre christmas mood. The poem for me was hard to follow b0ecause I couldn't figure out what happened to Santa. When I was at the end of the story I thought that mabey it was Ms. Claus who started to cry I have no idea. I thought christmas was a happy holiday. Accordng to this poem its not. Booo this Webb guy he needs to stick to writing about Charolet
ReplyDelete"How the Swine Stole Christmas", that should be that title of this poem. This has to be one of the saddest poems ever. Thankfully Christmas is also a "religious" holiday. I guess a cool simile in this poem would be how it says that a monster grabbed santa's heart and squezed. That kinda makes it clear that Santa has more than indigestion. Why a Christmas poem? It isn't even Thanksgiving yet!
ReplyDeleteI think that this poem was a great poem to read especially that it was by Charles Webb. This was a very good poem for Imagery in the line that says"He sits with me on out purple flowered-couch". For the most part this was a poem that would have to be read over to get the Imagery and for other ways to understand, but most people didnt have to because they could see what happend and it was like you could see it all. After all this was a good poem about Santa... It's too bad he died in the end. Addison Helms
ReplyDeleteHahaha! This was funny and depressing at the same time. Poor Santa. He ate to many cookies! I don't know what this could possibly be about. I love this poem though! I was laughing so hard I could barely read it!
ReplyDelete~Katie Cumbia~
I think this was an bad pome. It was sort of depressing. I think this poem is kind of confusing. I think it is insulting christmas...sort of.
ReplyDeleteGreg Trykowski
i did not like this poem. it was sad that santa had to die. i think when it says rudolfs nose was blinking like a sad ambulance is a similie. also when it says that he felt like a monster was squeezing his heart was a metaphor.
ReplyDeleteI think this was a fairly good poem. I has a classic element of ignoring symptoms until it is too late. I enjoyed the comparasion of Rudolph's nose to the lights of an ambulance. I espically enjoyed the ending, "and in a tract house in Houston, Texas, I'm 8, telling my mom that stupic kids at school say Santa's a big fake, and she sits with me on our purple-flowered couch, and takes my hand, tears in her throat, the terrible news rising in her eyes." First of all "tears in her throat"???? That doesn't make very much sense. And neither does "terrible news rising in her eyes."
ReplyDeleteI liked this poem. I'm not trying to mean , but I think there is always an end to good things. Everything in life comes to an end. We must exept it. Its the truth we face it.
ReplyDeleteSARAH FOOSHANG
I did not like this poem. It just seemed really unclear and hard to understand. I didn't like that Santa just died. I did like when it said that Rudolph's nose blinks like a sad ambulance.
ReplyDelete--Kaitlyn Henderson :)
I thought this poem was not written well. The whole Santa Clause thing really did not make sense.He could have been talking about a person who has a heart attack at Christmas time. I really do not know what he was saying.
ReplyDeleteMichael Holland
First off, i dont know why anyone would want to write an poem about this. Secondly, i did like the comparisons in the last couple paragraphs. i thought it was very inferesting. if it was me i would cry if Santa died. hopefully he wont anythime soon.
ReplyDelete-- Robby
This was a really cool poem...other than the fact that Santa died. It used a lot of similes such as "rudolph's nose blinked like a sad police siren". I was happy that for once I actually understood the poem. But the thing that really got me was the imagery. The images that the writer made about the death of Santa and all the things that were happening were sooo real. I actually beleived that Santa had died and it would be on the news soon. I liked the image of Santa feeding his rainder and his heart feeling like a monster started squeezing and wont let go. I mean its sad but that gave me a good image of what was hapening. Im gunna say I liked this poem.
ReplyDelete~Emerald~
I sort of liked this poem because it showed that Santa Claus was real but he died. It was sad because of Santas death. I didn't understand the part where the little kid at the end tells his mom what the kids at school told him. I liked when he used rudolph's nose a symbol of an ambulance light flashing. After all I think this poem was smooooth.
ReplyDeletei liked this poem alot. I though it was so funny that every possible solution santa had, he was scared or something. This poem is really funny. I would like morepoems like this.
ReplyDeletekristin bayne
This poem was depressing. I was not exactly sure if the mother was trying to tell her child this story or even why she was crying about it. In this poem to me the author is making Santa Claus seem like a baby. Also if I was little and heard this story it would make in afraid of the doctors. So this poem is not good for children that still believe in Sants Claus because it would teach them to be afraid of stuff that they shouldn't be afraid of at all. This is what I think of this poem it might seem that I didn't enjoy reading it but I actually did it got me thinking.
ReplyDeleteCasey Jeanfreau
This poem was pretty sad.Usually when you think of santa you think happy things,but this poem kind of twisted it.The little boy is about to find out about santa clause and he is going to be upset.The poem does show that sometimes we are going to have to deal with tough situations.
ReplyDeleteI feel bad for Santa, and I know that he's pretty upset that children don't believe in him. The author uses great imagery talking about how he fell on his jelly belly and his world went from white to black. I loved the poem.
ReplyDelete-Davarius Hampton
Poor Santa. I love how the author structure his sentances in a poetic way. I am sad for santa though. This was a really sad poem. It was funny as well. I can't believe Santa died.
ReplyDeleteSorry Ms. Mathis, I think this was late. I have been really busy with this geography project, but its unexscuable and I understand the consequenses for this comment being late... :(
Love- Hannah Beth Mckeel
This is a sad poem. Not really, but I liked how they described how santa claus died. They described it in much detail.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I'm late and I'm only posting this because I didn't see one for this week.
I liked this poem, it makes you think. Yes, it is depressing, but also suspenseful. I believe him dying is actually a analogy, saying it kills Santa Clause to say he is not real. I think thats why the child's mother was crying, but I am not really sure.
ReplyDeleteI love Christmas. I like the description of this poem. I don't like the plot of the poem. Why does Santa have to have chest pains?
ReplyDeleteI really dont like this poem at all. This poem is weird. This poem takes the fantasy about St.Nick and turns it upside down. The one thing i like about the poem is how effective the words were that he used.
ReplyDeleteJatavius Lloyd-Jones
It's poem but it makes me sad and feel sorry for santa and the kid. The only thing that was confusing is why the poem jumped from santa dieing to a little kid. The only reason that comes to mind is that they feel the same pain or something like that. Mabey as the kid losses faith santa dies? That might be it.
ReplyDeleteAt first this peom was kind of funny and I thought it would be silly. But then it got reall...disterbing and sad! At the end I didnt understand though, what the little kid was talking about. But over all I thought this was a very different, and cute poem!
ReplyDeleteI thought it was a very sad poem. If Santa dies does generousity and kindness go to? At the end i think when she tells him the horrible news its that their is no santa. So when it talks about Santa hurting its when those kids at school are saying Santa is not real.
ReplyDeleteBen Sessions
this poem had some pritty difficult words but the poem itself was not that difficult. I my mind shakshere is talking about a place not a person. I asume this because he says its trenches which makes me think of earth. It could not be earth because earth is much older than 40 years. Looking forwaed to reading shakshpere. Liam McNamara
ReplyDelete