We get annual letters from Santa via our friends, Tom and Stephanie Gonser, who used to live on San Juan Island. This year we were surprised to learn that everything is not honky dory at the North Pole but, of course, Santa had a poetic and practical solution. Wouldn’t it be nice if we took Santa’s advice?

Santa’s job this time a challenge — his yearly message verse:

The task seemed most impossible, since all was so adverse

T’was a year chocked full of North Pole strife, his Elves were quite divided

Some wore Blue, and some wore Red — few Elves were undecided

Even where they lived it seemed, reflected Elfish choices

The Polar’s edge was mostly Blue; at Polar’s center Red Elf voices

Some Elves avoided either shade, they were somewhere in between

But they were few, made little sense, and always dressed in Green

Throughout the year it was a mess, a Polar Elfish brawl

Because as Santa clearly saw, they could not get along at all

The Red and Blue words never minced; they were not just philosophic

They each described the other’s plans, as surely catastrophic

The Reds oft used the same grand words, like “Amazing” and “Great”

“Incredible” was often heard, and numbers Reds would oft inflate

The Blues were caught in Drippy Leaks, and they began to pout

Each passing day uncovered more, their dirty linens hanging out

The Reds described ideas of Blue, as uniformly “Horrible”

While Blues saw those who dressed in Red, as hopelessly deplorable

The mainstream press cheered on the Blues, with slants sometimes quite bitter

That met with zany Red retorts, through overuse of Twitter

Santa listened with dismay, as positions were reversed

No longer focused on what was best, instead avoiding what was worst

With the contest finally over, Santa thought at long last done:

But Reds and Blue could not agree, and still disputed who had won

The losing elves claimed they had won, since more votes they had swayed

While winning elves recited Rules — ‘Lectral count is how it’s played

The Blues spread blame for what transpired, to Comey and to Putin

The Reds replied with “Sour Grapes,” it’s time to stop disputin’

Unprecedented disagreement, defying common knowledge

Ended up decided by, the Special Polar ‘Lectral college

But even after that it seemed, though all had been decided

The Elves remained unreconciled, their loyalties divided

Santa knew his Christmas Message, must be resolute and clear

And focus on the path ahead — and the promise of New Year

The past year lost in acrimony, with strident oratory

Hardly Santa’s kind of year — a most un-Santa type of story

So Santa sent a message both, to colors Blue and Red

’Tis time to put the past away — look forward now instead

On all those things where we agree, let’s be now resolute

There’s ever so much more of that, than what’s been in dispute

Let’s rise above the rancor, put behind the battles fought

And focus on the issues, where the colors matter naught

Santa’s forecast therefore is, that next year can be splendid

If we will go the extra mile, to make the colors blended…

Jim and Minnie Knych

San Juan Island