by Albert Jalalon
A Christmas Like No Other
It's Christmas time once more
Lights are black and full of color
Festive is the air
Our glee evident
Our families will gather
Friends will get together
To partake and reminisce
Elation is at hand
For a year almost gone
For a year we rather forget
For in it's wake a tumult
A year that never was
Yet
As a dark winter now engulfs
Bleak and foreboding it seems
All lives upended
All normalcy lost
A virus' havoc unleashed
Is there something to celebrate?
Can we find new meaning
In a tragic year all told
Where death is common everyday
Of all colors, stripe and hue
Race and age don't matter
It does not discriminate
I say yes to all these
And celebrate we must
But we will do so wisely
Our well beings paramount
It will be distant, others remote
The joy of being one
Our ardent desire to be together
No virus can supplant
We will rejoice we will celebrate
We will remember we will give thanks
and in this our defiance, obstinate we stand
Unbowed, unconquered victory will be ours
Some might not be present
Others forever gone
In our tables empty chairs
We will remember them all
Christmas will come
As she always has
Christmas will be here
Whether we like it or not
The greatest gift that Christmas gives
Is the birth of a savior,
He is the reason for the season
Our salvation assured
Yes it's hard, our hearts are heavy
Some friends and loved ones not around
But resilient and gleeful we are
Our hope remains
It's eternal
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