Gladly the boy, with Christmas box in hand,
Throughout the town his devious route pursues,
And, of his master’s customers, implores
The yearly mite. Often his cash he shakes —
The which, perchance, of coppers few consists —
Whose dulcet jingle fills his little soul
With joy as boundless as the debtor feels
When, from the bailiff’s rude, uncivil gripe,
His friends redeem him, and, with pity fraught,
The claims of all his creditors discharge.
The Christmas Box
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Summary
"The Christmas Box" is a short comic poem following a boy who eagerly winds through town on Christmas, rattling a collection box as he solicits coins from his master's customers. The few copper coins inside jingle with a sweetness that fills him with outsized joy — a delight the poet wryly compares to the relief of a debtor freed from a bailiff's grip by generous friends who settle all his debts. The poem finds humour and warmth in small pleasures and the absurd scale of a child's happiness.
