I had a frightful and empty dream last night
that you weren't here for Christmas this year
And then I awakened in a state of trepidation
with the realization that the dream was true
Oh, how I miss your smile and laughter
which could light up the world for me
Your gentle ways of encouraging me
gave me strength to pursue my goals
I still remember so vividly the last time
we were together just as I had to leave
I knew we both understood it would be
the last time we would see each other
You were sitting in your special place
and you seemed so fragile and tired
You were suffering with so much pain
and we both tried so hard to ignore it
I cried as I drove away that spring day
knowing there was nothing I could do
I prayed that your time would come soon,
as I know you had prayed that it would too
And sometimes our prayers are answered,
for you crossed over peacefully in your sleep
I miss you, mother, more than I could know
until you were no longer in this world of ours
But unlike we temporal beings who seem to invite
and welcome Christmas into our hearts but once a year,
you are now in a realm where Christmas is perpetual
and love is truly unconditional and the absolute reality
I can imagine you running along the shores of forever
playing with others with childlike wonder and delight
And as you gaze into the heavens, you are blessed with
all the bright, shining stars as your ornaments forevermore
Then I'm filled with awe and joy that you live there now,
and I want to wish you a very Loving and Merry Christmas
And I'll always believe that you're looking down upon me
with the same love and that beautiful smile I knew as a child

dennis j hopkins ~ 12/2000
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