MY JANUARY POEM

I originally wrote this poem for my brother Terry in 1996; it was one year after my family and I had moved from California to Virginia.  Things were very tight then and I couldn't afford to buy him a gift, in fact, I think that was the very first year that I wasn't able to give him one.  We had always been close; he was my only sibling and moving was very hard for me.  So, I decided to write a poem for him and I decoupaged it onto a piece of cardboard and I couldn't even afford to mail it to him until later in February of that year.  I consider it to be my January Poem and I hope you like it:

CHRISTMAS LIVES THROUGH US

Christmas comes and Christmas goes

Amid the rain and wintry snows

The bells are silent in the square

The wreaths are gone that hung everywhere

The lights that twinkled so brightly now are dim

The mangers of straw are put away that revealed Him

But His true love still rings across the land

It's a timeless love that will always stand

No one can silence the Angels as they sing

He is still Lord!  He is still King!

The earth is still in joyful song

From the babbling brooks and creeks; to rivers long

In the trees that rise skyward lifting arms in praise

Meadows with tall grass in the wind sways

The birds cannot contain their joy inside

The sun rises and its happy face it cannot hide

God's people are still gathering across this great land

Proclaiming aloud His love hand in hand

We can truly keep Christmas in our heart

Hidden so deeply inside it can never depart

God's Son still lives and deserves our praise

Let us never forget our voices to raise

He is the King of Glory and will ever be!

So Christmas will always live through you and me

Sheri L. Swift

01/31/96