Image via Wikipedia
Bright lights, glittering tinsel,
merry sounds and the gay tinkle
of laughter and glasses
toasting out the old
and in the new.
Sparkling, vivid colors
garner doorways and trees,
cheery songs, sung by
rosy-cheeked carollers,
merrily tramping through snow,
that lights on noses, falls in drifts,
and muffles the noises
of Christmas Eve.
For those who’ve lost loved ones,
in the last year,
bright lights dim,
tinsel loses its glitter,
sounds become meaningless noises,
laughter and glasses no longer tinkle,
and there’s only the reluctant,
painful, release of the old,
letting go of the loved one now gone.
An empty chair,
a missing wrapped gift beneath the tree,
a toast that can be given
with only a single glass.
Sparkling, vivid colors come
only in black and white and grey,
the garner of doorways and trees
only glimmerless, tangled rope.
rosy-cheeked carollers sing
a one-note song:
“my old acquaintance is not forgotten,
but gone.”
Snow flakes and drifts,
reminders only of bitter cold,
covering someone buried deeply beneath.
Silence, the muffled sound
of inexpressible grief.
May those who’ve lost someone since the last, merry Christmas or Holiday, be comforted by warm memories of that one who is no longer here, be comforted by their faith, and be comforted in knowing there will be a softer time to come. To those who know of such a person, give them love.
©Janet Mitchell, December, 2011
