XXIII: A Christmas Elegy
I saw them again when the season unfolded,
Shops glistening in Christmas lights,
Jolly jingles ringing in the background of the banter,
I still don’t remember how I heard about Santa —
But I still recall the lustre of those sun-dyed evenings
We leave pieces of ourselves in everything we used to love,
From the paths we used to walk to old meadows where we played,
Mother used to lay the tables and Father waltzed In with the presents,
In the pureness of those moments, Christmas came alive to me.
Smiles, tickles, suspense, giggles, nibbles, dribbles, hugs, beams —
And one day,
Death strolled in and stole the show.
No good-byes were said
And no hugs were exchanged,
Colour turned to grey and Santa never returned,
I would sit at the table but Mother never showed up,
I tarried at the door but Father never waltzed in…
I saw them again when the season unfolded,
Memories I had seen in colour now locked away in grey,
I sit down to write this with tears and no words to say,
The season of joy unfolds and yet this darkness is my light.
notes: It was while taking a long stroll this evening that I put on a song by Passenger (called Suzanne) and it happened to put me in a reflective mood, recalling the Decembers that had gone and how things had played out. Some had been comely and some well, not so nice to recall and so at some point, I sat down only to catch a tear making its way down my face. I guess in some way I felt immense gratitude to be here now, at the end of the year, the last lap but it also reminded me of the people I had cherished the most that were no more and how different it would all be if there were here.
The tears did multiply and well, I did what I’ve always done, I wrote, and this is what came of it. I hope you are having a lovely Christmas nonetheless and I remain grateful for everyone who takes their time to read and comment. Thank you 🙌🏾🤍
