Like the moon
That inches slowly
Through wooden slats
Like a cat
Prowling before pouncing
The moon beams
Delicately peel the
Browness of your
Skin back like
Your turbulent sleep
Removes the bedsheet
Leaving you ashen
And moving lower
As the moon
Moves higher in
It’s sky eventually
Landing on your
Feet which poke
Free down there
Like a pair
Of wooly mittens
All this as
Satie serenades waft
From hidden speakers
And give me
What I know
Now as beauty
Sharing a whiskey
A fire and
A cuddle on
A snowy Christmas
Eve you uncurled
Yourself from me
And sauntered into
The bedroom through
The darkness leaving
Me to turn
Out the lights
In the silence
I heard a
Clacking from outside
Checking snow covered
Windows seeing nothing
I opened the
Door and saw
Blinking in front
Of me reindeer
Like eight shivering
Waifs then knowing
That Christmas had
Come to our
Tiny quiet cabin
Standing in the
Doorway looking out
Wondering where your
Footprints went now
That they’re covered
By a fresh
Blanket of snow
All remains quiet
Except for the
Sound of winds
Creating drifts making
Me think that
You’re coming back
But all that
I get is
Cold that kind
Of cold that
Buried my heart
Right behind your
Now forgotten footprints
A sweater some
Flannels a pair
Of fuzzy socks
One cup of
Marshmallow bobbing cocoa
A choral classic
Of familiar melodies
Glassy spheres of
Varying size and
Color a box
Full of green
Twinkling spaghetti whose
Plugs are buried
Beneath green blue
Red and yellow
Bulbs a kidnapped
Evergreen standing naked
A kaleidoscope of
Paper and ribbon
One closet stocked
Full of toys
A stack of
Holiday cards filled
With warm greetings
These are what
The holidays always
Mean to me
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
HARLAN DIDRICKSON 