Nostalgic Christmas

Christmas has always held a special place in my being I used to read my books snuggled between the hearth and tree There was nothing like the shimmer and glimmer of the bokeh lights Real pine needles would poke, prod and pierce me Loved the wooden cranberries that wrapped and hugged branches But my favorite ornament in the box's assortment Was a soldier when I pulled on strings attached to his body His legs would spread from the thin, worn thread The angel who looked over us all is propped up on top A virgin dressed in white, eyes shut and held a light The circumference of her bottom just fits over the tree's pointed edge When the lights below fill her body, she has a magical glow And my parents would lie presents in the most special pattern Stacked to the brim and packed 'round the tree's rim To maximize the effect that Santa had read our letters Wanting the wrapping paper to never taper This Christmas I felt nostalgic as I look at my own tree Memories put a slight pain in my side and I cried I miss the days of the past when Christmas made me safe I try to find it now as I have grown but somehow it's hard to have known That Christmas is not a tree, ornaments or the way the gifts are displayed This holiday, this year to me is about remembering how if feels when I look at the tree Christmas is a feeling that can make tears fall from my eyes But they are feelings of the good times that will never die