Catalogs

As the holidays draw near,
Anxiety starts growing;
I empty out my mailbox,
Which is close to overflowing.

It isn’t bills or greeting cards
That’s taking all the room;
It’s catalogs, so fat and full
Of items to consume.

Every store and company
Appears to be contriving
To ram their products down our throats,
And more keep on arriving!

Their shiny pages catch our eye
And, like a siren’s song,
They lure us to the land of debt,
Where we do not belong.

For though we flip the pages
With desire and with greed,
We realize there’s a lot to want
But nothing that we need.

Even gifts don’t have to be
Extravagant and shipped;
I know that I would much prefer
If presents could be skipped.

So let’s take all the catalogs
And chuck them with the trash.
Perhaps our friends and relatives
Will settle for some cash!