Keeping Christmas
©2015 Susan Noyes Anderson
image by Stephane Juban on Unsplash
When every guest has taken leave,
and gifts are all unwrapped and gone,
I take a little time to grieve
before good memories linger on.
I find a special place to store
the footsteps coming up the path,
the bells a-jingle at the door,
the eager eyes, the boisterous laugh.
I call back moments by the fire,
each face that I hold dear aglow,
remember words that still inspire,
spoken today and long ago.
When family gathers all around,
the love lives on in every heart.
Therein is Christmas always found,
preserved in every sacred part.
