Christmas

what do I think of Christmas?
let me think
deep
I want to tell the truth

when I was a child
it was carols,cards and Christmas bells
a big family
the ones now mostly dead
tales they told
magic filled my head

and a wish for snow

grown
I made a new family
with children of my own
a hearth and home
the house was full of friends,
music, love, childrens’ voices,
laughter, power cuts
as the village crashed the grid
we didn’t care
the fire and lanterns lit
magic light

and a wish for snow

it stayed that way for years
the table set
the kitchen hot
the windows steamed
my parents came to stay
I see it all on adverts now
happy children
the crowded table
the lovers special gift

the pretty sparking snow

now I sit in a house
with my mother
she is very old
thinking this may be her last
we talk about the past
Christmases before
I wasn’t even born
I keep the winter chill
from my heart

I think it’s sure to snow

I think of those
outside alone
no place to go
remind myself I’m lucky
it could be me

out there in the snow