Christmas 2024

I am in a season of creating Christmas rituals for myself. Last year I cooked for friends, decorated the house and I wrote a poem which I shared in reponse to Christmas messages I received. This time of year has never been an easy time for me so in order to break the loop, I have committed to bending the will of this time of year to reflect what I need. 

2023 poem, "Flowers"

I have put up the decorations anew (with a new additions of angels I bought in Uganda), I came home to Christmas flowers from my sister and I penned a poem to mark this year's Christmas. The poem began as a letter to Christmas but I eventually settled for a very dull title: "Christmas 2024"

Every year, you arrive

with old memories and new yearnings

You arrive demanding rituals of beauty

from splintered glass we cannot put back together again

You arrive with old recipes and new clothes

new songs and long journeys

Demanding that we try again

You insist on being a full day

no half measure in a ritual of consumption

And yet beneath all the noise

you are also magical myths 

A family looking for refuge

A family finding rest in a stable

A young mother giving birth

A family that receives gifts they didn't ask for

A family beneath a starry night, waiting

You are the myth of a fat father flying through the sky

Delivering benevolence throughout the world in one night

In between the angst and contrived joy, you arrive

burdended with histories inviting us to see you anew

There are no platitudes here

Sometimes quiet hopes that we can do better next year

And sometimes a relief that another year has passed

Again.