The spirit of Christmas-now walks
soft beside me,
weaving as we go:
the chat with a good friend;
Christmas dinner at a table set for two instead of six;
unkind words about another driver;
kisses blown to sick loved ones through a patio door;
quiet moments reading (sometimes to the cat);
until what I truly value is etched
into the fabric of the day,
a gift to me:
an image of my Faith, raw, unmasked,
unclothed.
The spirits of Christmas-yet-to-come
stand silent:
watching, shifting with the winds of
time and choices
from now and yesterday,
until one stands alone,
pregnant with possibilities and
Hope.
But the Spirit of Christmas-long-ago
– ah, that!
It wraps itself around me,
embracing me in all my humanness,
holding Humanity itself so tightly
that it can’t help but be born
in spirit and in flesh;
and it whispers softly that its truest
name is Love.
©Carol Shaw 122521
