Tuesday, December 25, 2018

41 Years of Christmas Poems: Christmas 2018









Some years, the process takes longer than others. 2018 was such a year.

Having shifted into a world of active training on technology and sales, December was a non-stop hotbed of activity. Even though I knew exactly what I wanted to write about in the poem, finding the time and the energy was a real challenge. I'm sure no one can appreciate what I'm talking about, right? ;-)

All-nighters are getting harder as I move down the timeline of life. Finishing this in the wee-morning hours of 12/21 and finding myself mailing the bulk of the cards out at 4 a.m. on the 24th, I certainly can appreciate what parents go through with trying to get the kids to bed on Christmas Eve and then wrapping presents on little sleep only to awaken to the wonder of delighted shrieks just a scant few hours later.

With that, I send this poetic child of mine out into the world. From my heart to all of yours, Merry Christmas and best wishes for peace and prosperity in 2019.


Christmas 2018
By Richard Perrotti

Christmas engages our senses
With wonderful sights and sounds.
Scents that delight and entice us
To taste (and pack on the pounds!)

An overlooked aspect of the season
Is the tactile, the texture of real.
So consider this holiday question –
Christmas: how does it feel?

The chameleon of this wintry season
Is the snow that falls from the sky.
Delicate it floats on the breezes.
Hard and blackened on the ground by and by.

Pine needles are resinous and sticky,
Making their point when touched.
Yet on these rough limbs, we adorn them
With ornamental memories well clutched.

Those baubles can be glass or golden
Newly purchased or passed down through time.
Crafted by past generations
Preserving moments, loving and sublime.

Both smooth and crunchy is garland,
Tinsel that shines on the tree.
Brushy, teeming with color,
Draped like smiles of holiday glee.

The cookie really does crumble
As you roll it about in your hand.
Turning your five faithful fingers
‘To a colorfully crumby fairyland.

The last stop of this tactile journey
Is the texture of a real human heart.
Look deep past the muscle and sinew.
Find the place where true feelings start.

For to touch someone’s heart is a miracle.
In a flash, pain and sorrow can heal.
It’s the one place to answer the question;
Christmas: how does it feel?