
‘Twas the night before finals, and all through UTD
Not a student was prepared, least of all me.
My notebooks were strewn about the dorm without care,
In hopes that the information would materialize from thin air.
Some students were asleep, having given up
While I brewed some more coffee (already on my fourth cup).
Sets and arrays and lagrange multipliers –
The concepts alight in my head like bellowing fires.
When out in the Plinth there arose such a clatter,
I ran from my dorm to see what was the matter.
I put on my shoes and threw open the door
And away to the courtyard I ran in a stupor.
The moonlight highlighted the water feature’s fine mist,
And the beams illuminated the waves with a kiss.
When, what to my poor sunken eyes should relay
But eight tiny tobors pulling a miniature sleigh,
With a driver with hair of bright fiery locs
I knew in a moment it must be Temoc!
More rapid than drivers on the I-20 they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:
“Now Rehsad! Now Recnad! now Recnarp and Nexiv!
On Comet! On Dipuc! On, Rennod and Neztilb!
To the top of the pergola! And to the gaming wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”
They ran and took off, heading into the sky
As I quickened my pace to follow behind.
So up to the top of the residence halls they flew
With the sleigh full of notes, and hot-cocoa too.
And then, in a flash, I heard a small subtle beep
As the residence halls opened and in Temoc creeped.
The students’ eyes brightened, and there in the crowd
I saw joy and wonder and hope there abound.
He was dressed in some unsightly orange-green merch,
With skin blue as ice and his lips in a smirk.
He passed out the cocoa and coffee and notes
And energy drinks to keep students afloat.
His eyes – how they twinkled! In the light of the hall
His cheeks were like roses, his nose round and small.
The fire of his hair warmed up the whole room
Against the winter night’s coldness and gloom.
His jolly fur coat draped down to the floor,
The orange and green extending halfway to the door.
He had a round face, with features chiseled in ice
With the countenance of someone generous and nice.
And oh how he was! As he passed out
The drinks and the notes and the merriment about.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Convinced me for a second I had little to dread.
We spoke not a word and both went back to work,
Me with a sigh, him with a queer smirk.
Having distributed the last of the drinks,
He got up to stand and then left with a wink.
He sprang to his sleigh, ordering the tobors to fly
Up in the night, to the atmosphere on high.
But I heard him shout back, as he left with his robotic bucks,
“Happy finals to all, and to all best of luck.”
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