Gloved hands clutch the wheel,
red as rage, bruised by dreams,
a punch-drunk holiday festering in the dark.
Neon buzzes “TRAINING CAMP” above,
letters jagged like a broken promise.
Two figures locked in silence,
eyes heavy with something unsaid,
one staring through frostbitten glass,
the other at shadows beyond the road –
memories hit like fists, relentless and cold.
Grit and tinsel collide on the dashboard,
a garland drowning in filth and despair,
plastic cheer in a junkyard car,
where no one wins but everyone fights.
Christmas burns under fluorescent light –
no angels, no saviors,
just bloodied knuckles and hollow stares,
waiting for the bell to toll again.