Harriet's Gift

A poem for Advent. I wish you well, whether you are a person of faith or no faith. We are one another x Today, my dear friend Harriet gave to me A tiny glittery nativity Like Russian dolls, the size of half a thumb A tiny Joseph Dad and Mary Mum And Jesus, smaller than a fingernail Such tiny things to tell so grand a tale And as she pressed them in my hand her eyes So bright and hopeful, old and kind and wise Were simply brimming with that shining light That fuelled the star that lit that mystic night Some weeks ago, she gifted me a stone Found on a beach where she had walked alone All gold and smooth from rolling ocean’s wear For me to hold in moments of despair And there were candles then that she had lit Upon the table where we sometimes sit And then, like now, I very nearly cried So touched by all the love she has inside If only love and Christmas were like this All simple joy, delight and friendly kiss All gentleness, all light and subtle sheen Like all the things in her that I have seen I wish you joy, like Harriet wishes me A Christmas full of love; all blesséd be by Gail