This is one of my classic Christmas poems, It appears at the end of my first book. |
Looking for Christmas I went looking for Christmas the other day We had just had a light snowfall the day before Yes, it was December And that magical date was approaching But something just didn’t seem right Something was missing The ingredients were all there Or so it seemed But inside there wasn’t that special feeling And I was determined to find it No matter how long it took Or how far I had to go I started by putting up my tree This always helps Seeing it in the living room All covered with lights and bulbs Ice sickles dangling from its branches It was a very beautiful sight I did feel a moment of warmth deep inside But no This wasn’t it So I decided to do just a little bit more I went into my attic And found the boxes that I had stored the lights in You know the ones Almost everyone has them Stashed away in the attic or the basement Anyway I strung the strands From nail to nail Nails that had been there for years Just placed for this one purpose And once more The outside of the house looked beautiful But still something was missing Maybe this was something That I was not meant to find by myself I concluded So I decided to find a place Where others had found Christmas So I got into my car And drove down the street To the mall I walked from store to store Looked at all the wonderful displays That each store had spent so much time and effort On putting together And, of course, there were the people So many people Each trying to decide to get this or that Not a lot of Christmas spirit here though There was the Santa section however Children standing in a long line Just for the opportunity to sit in the lap Of a man they had never met Just to be able to whisper to him What it was they Really wanted There was a bit of magic here For this man did really approach his job With such a good demeanor I stood there for some time Just watching the looks on each child’s face When it was finally their turn Yes, there was a bit of Christmas here But not exactly what I was looking for And it was getting late So I left On the way home I spotted a small church In front of this church Someone had erected a life size nativity scene It wasn’t much but there were several cars Sitting in the parking lot And it looked like there was a small choir All bundled up against the cold Singing from a small stage I had to stop and see this So I did There was a short line of people That formed outside the makeshift stable So instinctively I got in line In front of me was a small family A mother, a father, and their daughter Who could not have been over seven years old Yes, we’re going shopping dear I heard the mother tell her daughter Just as soon as we stop here To see the Baby Jesus. It didn’t take long There weren’t a lot of people in line The small family stood there for several minutes Standing in front of the small wooden railing That the people of the church had erected To keep their display safe from those Who would rather touch than look At such a display Each of the three seemed to take in every aspect Of all the different characters They all stood there holding hands Yes, this was a beautiful sight And the nativity scene was not that bad either The parents had decided that it was time to leave No one wanted to hold up the line that long And it was quite cold outside As they turned to leave The daughter turned quickly and pulled her hand Away from her mother’s She ducked under the fence And started towards the manger Before her mother could say a single word Their daughter stood in front of the manger for just an instant Removed her coat And tucked it gently around the figure of the baby She then turned with a single tear in her eye And hurried back to her parents I didn’t want Him to be cold Is all she said We all stood there for quite some time Not really knowing what would happen next The father reached down Took his daughter in his arms And held her very close I heard him almost whisper It looks like you’ll be needing a new coat for Christmas Here I had gone Spent a whole day Simply looking for the true spirit of Christmas And somehow Like the real magic That is associated with this special season And through the actions of a single child It had found me Merry Christmas Everyone Ed Roberts 12/06/01 |