With each passing
Year I find
While hanging ornaments
Nostalgia rises like
Steam from coffee
Coating my spectacles
With misty memories
Some simply blur
While others produce
A tear for
Long ago moments
Christmas for me
Has become a
Time of remembering
Him then him
There him when
Let’s talk snow
Having grown up
In Wisconsin we
Learned the different
Types of snow
There’s wet snow
And dry snow
There’s blowing snow
And packing snow
There’s brittle snow
And snowglobe snow
There’s flurries and
There’s blizzard snow
There’s barely snow
And white-out snow
Snow is a
Lot like love
To most it’s
Something to avoid
But to those
That know it
Well that’s Wonderland
Ah Christmas ho
Ho ho and
All of that
Besides the festivities
Christmas is really
About giving and
Less about receiving
After all God
Gave his only
Son to us
On that day
Remember that when
You give a
Present the present
That you receive
In return is
The surprise and
The glee and
The thank you
Which by the
Way doesn’t come
With the now
Famous return receipt
And one morning
When I was
Ten I opened
The curtains of
My shared bedroom
Wiped the window
Free of frost
And saw Wonderland
My world was
Covered in snow
Like a cake
Blanketed in buttercream
Frosting the pine
Tree boughs heavy
With millions of
Sparkling whipped cream
Diamonds my brothers
And I dashed
Donned in jammies
And robes out
The door skidding
And sliding laughing
Gleefully forming snowballs
Like fluffy balls
Of yarn tossing
Them at each
Other on this
First snow day
As mother greeted
Us with hot
Cocoa and marshmallows
Winter is here
Finally in Wisconsin
Love indeed is
Magical it can
Be seen felt
Or even tasted
It can be
Heard and said
Though itself is
Invisible what miracle
Such a thing
Is to be
Everywhere and
Nowhere at the
Exact same time
It’s always something
And never nothing
It’s always given
Often received frequently
Forgiven never forgotten
It’s sometimes laughing
Too often crying
You my dearest
Are that same
Love to me
HARLAN DIDRICKSON 