As you read this Christmas poem, with its taste of bittersweetness, see it not in a dark light — embrace it as a tale of a long-awaited journey, to be with the one beloved.
digital collage entitled: “Christmas Tear” – by: rob kistner © 2011
B rushed my shoulder on this morning’s train
then while in line to get my breakfast tea
at the market it was there again
from our favorite table it beckoned me
in the crowd at the festive mall
glimpsed like a flicker of candle light
I swear I saw it fleeting fall
upon the gifts I did not wrap this night
upon the tree I did not decorate
the greeting cards I did not write
in frail voice I chastise fate
singing carols doesn’t feel right
I see it there in every aisle
the shadow of your love
elusive as a shopper’s smile
caught up in the crush and shove
it returns this night each year
the same night you went away
in dreams you kiss away each tear
touch my lips that beg you stay
but this year I’ll not awaken blue
in the end an easy thing to do
I’ll make our lover’s dreams come true
this midnight deep I come to you
*
initial draft: rob kistner © 2011
2nd & current update: rob kistner © 2022
Poetry at: dVerse
This poem originally posted 2011: at Magpie Tales