Christmas night.
I close my eyes,
And slip into the sanctuary of memories.
There,
Echoes of a tune
That I sang in childhood.
A simple melody of my youth,
A carol of Christmas pageants gone.
Its centuries old refrain
Lingers among the hazy vision
Of specters now at rest.
Ancient words
Numb the body like a Winter chill
As I see the child I was
In the comfort
Of those who protected me.
Dizzy senses filled with pipe smoke.
Crackling fire lit logs,
Dancing bubble lights upon the tree,
Her gentle hand,
His warm smile,
Forever haunting.
The choir of my school days softly sing,
“Of all the trees that are in the woods,
The holly bears the crown.”
©2009
All Alone in a Crowd 