a frosty cold dawn
a gray featureless sky
feels just like me today
there’s a frozen mist
sprinkled on the ground
it’s a monochrome morning
a colorless song
that sounds like me today
so i guess
i’ll take the Christmas tree down

Christmas carols
echo in my living room
the grandkids laughing
wrapping paper tearing
meals we were just sharing
are now memories
and there’s something sad in me
at the end of 2023
so i guess
i’ll take the Christmas tree down

a quiet end of the season
a gentle closing of the year
and for no particular reason
a tear appears
and it’s okay
the past three sixty-five
well…
let’s just say
it can be hard to be alive
there have been days of good cheer
sorrow and struggle too
said a final good-bye to mom
and then there are the fractures
in the family
feeling all the anxiety
and those whispers of failure
just rise
amidst an endless
ostinato of whys
so i guess
i’ll take the Christmas tree down

a plastic stained glass window
with a little boy in prayer
amber crystal beads
a shiny red ball from Macy’s
a tiny wooden christmas tree
a three story ceramic house
a quiet Christmas mouse
glimmering shimmering
sparkling dazzling
all are put to rest
almost done
there’s just one
the last ornament

it’s a smiling angel
holding a star
with colored gems for wings
so there i stand
with this angel
in my hand
i can almost hear it sing
a song of grace
a melody of peace
a smiling angel in my hand
helps me know
i’m in His hand
so i hum a tune
i can’t remember which one
but i remember
the fractures and failures
are held in His hand too
all our fractures
all our failures
so grateful He holds them
grateful He knows them
thanks for listening
i’m done
taking the Christmas tree
down