Elves from afar

The cutout elves have arrived
as they do every year
since my childhood -
countdown
to Christmas Eve.
24 naughty paper elves
magically appears
one for each day
on paintings, on pictures,
on bookshelves,
all around the house...
and my children go
searching for them
like me then ... even today.
They know I put them up -
I knew my mom added them -
to our home in December,
but that little whiff
of elves' dust from a past
of bygone times
cannot hurt anybody -
and I hope the tradition
will continue
with our granchildren.
thus believing that
in spite of everything
little traditions
carry a light of elf magic.