One Fine Afternoon at a Small Café...

At a café down a road very far from town,
On a nice sunny day when there’s no one around
Santa Claus sat on his stool and thought it funny
To share a cappuccino with the Easter Bunny.

They usually meet up every year at this time.
It was perfect, very nice, like a nursery rhyme.
There were no holidays or timelines or schedules to keep
No worries about eggs to hide and no children asleep

Just two icons living outside their fairyland world
Complaining about their jobs is where this story unfurled:

”You know, my friend,” Santa began to say,
“Some claim the reindeer can’t even pull the sleigh.
Something about physics and the passage of time.
I can travel the speed of light and stop on a dime.
The job is not easy, though I make it look so,
With the number on the list oh how it does grow.”

“How about me?” interrupted the hare.
“I get no respect, no praise, it just isn’t fair.
All year I color eggs until my paws turn blue.
I visit every house, every child, every town like you.”

“I have to cart a sleigh all packed up with gifts.
I don’t get to do it in phases or shifts.
It’s all in one shot, and it happens at night
Ninety million homes all visited before light.”

“You give one present to each child, how hard could it be?
I have to hide eggs, not one or two but nearer twenty-three.
Where are my fans, my letters and cookies on a plate?
I’d kill for some reindeer and a sleight for the weight.”

Santa furrowed his brow as he sipped his hot drink.
“I wish I had your magic and that basket, I think.
I have to squeeze down a chimney increasingly small,
And sometimes there’s even no chimney at all.
I duck in a vent, a key hole or what else might arise
And do you know what that does to a guy my size?

“Look,” said the bunny, “I’m only covered in fur,
I can’t fly, I don’t run and I lack a chauffeur.
No elves paint my eggs and there’s no Mrs. Claus up north
I’m all by myself, you see, all alone and so forth.
What we should do is come together and handle this matter,
Form a company, get it done and put an end to this chatter.”

“I understand,” Santa interjected with a gleeful chuckle.
He brushed some crumbs from his suit as he straightened his belt buckle.
“We should join forces, you and me, and do this up right.
We’ll hire scores of bunnies each with reindeer to help take flight.”

“I’ll give you baskets and baskets by the dozen,
Each filled with magic brewed up by my cousin.
You loan me some elves to color my eggs quickly
Together we’ll blanket the world and do it quite thickly.”

“If my suit were not red, but pastels, pinks and blues,
I do nothing on Easter but take a long snooze.
My sleigh could carry you on your Easter journey,
I’ll check with my contract and call my attorney.
If he gives me the green light, then away we will fly,
Imagine dropping Easter eggs from high in the sky!”

The excitement reached an end and silence came on.
They both knew the only conclusion they’ve drawn:
Christmas and Easter were just too separate of days.
If each became one, it would be merely a phase.

“I give up my friend, you Easter Bunny of Spring,
No amount of happiness this scheme would bring.”
“I agree,” said the rabbit with an all-knowing wink.
“We should stay in charge of our own days, I think.”

With a sigh and a smile, Santa paid the check this year.
The Easter Bunny wrinkled his nose and switched an ear.
“I’ll see you soon, Santa, for sure, next July.
Good luck with Christmas and I wish you good bye.”

Jolly Santa smiled as he rose up from his chair.
“Look at us, you and I, aren’t we quite the pair?
We find every way to get out of our life’s work,
When we know that pure joy is the largest perk.”

With a shake and a wave they went their own way,
Each one home to prepare for his own special day.
But every year at this quiet café both strive to attend,
As each one enjoys the annual chat with his friend.