Merry Xmas to all and to all the Good Fight!

by Victor Payan

Not so long ago
And not very far
Lived a jolly young man
With a lowrider car

His name it was Felix
Navidad was his name
And he was known round the world
So great was his fame

He was just a man
Just like you or like me
He couldn’t fly through the air
Or walk on the sea

But his heart it was big
And his soul knew no cages
And wherever he went
He brought gifts for children of all ages

He didn’t have elves
Way up at the North Pole
But he knew lots of Hopi
Maya, Navaho and Huichol

And together they’d make
Magic toys and dream catchers
For those who had been good
But not for bullies and bashers,
public trust slashers
or 1%-serving civil rights smashers

He rode all around
Low and slow round the curves
In his lowrider car
pulled by eight shiny cylinders

He’d drive from town to town
When the rain came down in sheets
To small forgotten villages
That had no paved streets

His lowrider would glide
Past checkpoints and tanks
And through the sad parts of town
Overridden by gangs

He would tiptoe at night
Just as quiet as snails
And give hope to the Raza
Locked in prisons and jails

He would bring all the dreams
He could fit in his heart
And sprinkle love onto roofs
That were quiet and dark

And then, when he was stopped
By Homeland Security police one morning
They ignored his improper papers
And let him off with a warning

And he drove on and on
To the next quiet house
And dried up all the tears
And put smiles on all the mouths

With a wave of his hand
He could make food last longer
He could make it taste better
And make weak children stronger

Then one cold winter a lot like this
When there was no hope to be found
It seemed as if Felix Navidad
Just stopped coming around

Some say he sold out
For a suit and a vest
Some say that he died
While resisting arrest

Some say he’s enslaved
On a cocoa plantation
Some say he’s being held without charges
In a secret location

But there are others who say
And this they will swear
That they’ve seen him here
And they’ve seen him there

That he was seen in the West Bank
And Guantanamo Bay
And then in Parangaricutirimicuaro
On the very same day

But wherever he is
His fame is still known
Because the hope that he left
Just keeps growing and growing

Now don’t be misled
And don’t be beguiled
Because Felix Navidad
Has been here all the while

In fact I saw him myself
Under the hood of his car
Not so long ago
And not very far

And he’s still bringing hope
To children of all ages
He’s making food last longer
And raising minimum wages

And sometimes when you’re lonely
And there’s nobody near
He’ll call up and request
That very same oldie you needed to hear

But he won’t say it’s from him
And he won’t say your name
But he’ll know that you heard it
And smile, just the same

And sometimes through the fog
Through the blackest of night
You can still hear him call
In that dark before light
Merry Xmas to all and to all the Good Fight!

© 1998-2013 Victor Payan

Editor’s Note: Victor’s poem was originally published December 23, 2012