The Christmas Gift
As I sat thinking on Christmases past
How, as a child, I thought of foolish things.
I wanted a new doll every Christmas,
I never once thought of how much it would cost
Or whether my parents had the money at all
I never knew how difficult the task proved to be
When things magically appeared under the tree.
Somehow, they managed to fulfill most of our requests.
I remember the lighted Christmas trees,
The gifts and toys always strewn underneath
I never wondered if one day they wouldn’t be
My belief and faith in my parents never let me doubt.
We rarely had to do without.
Not to imply we had a lot
My parents worked hard for everything we got.
Now that I’m grown, I see things differently.
I know what is important and what is not.
I’ve learned to be grateful for everything I’ve got.
I still enjoy all the lights and festivities of the season,
But it’s not what matters most.
All the toys and gifts we received didn’t last any length of time.
Some were outgrown, some lost, others given away.
In some sense, they were never really mine.
I enjoyed them for a brief period of time.
The gift we received that mattered most,
Is the precious memories we made as a family.
This is what I will always treasure
It is a gift that is beyond measure.
As a child I thought of foolish things,
But now I know the value of the gift
That we received every day of the year.
It wasn’t something you put in a box with a bow
And place under the Christmas tree
It was a gift that will last forever
One that will be with our family always
It can never be taken away
It will never lose its sparkle or shine
It will be ours until the end of time.
It will be ours until the end of time.
That is the unending gift of love
Copyright 2011 P. Newman-Harris
Copyright 2011 P. Newman-Harris