Thursday December 8 2016  TRUTH RATHER THAN FICTION?

 

TRUTH RATHER THAN FICTION?

Kathleen Martens

December 8, 2016

http://www.visionsofpoetry.com

 

If I were once again a kid

Would I have the joy of believing

That there was a Santa Clause

And gifts I’d be receiving?

 

Fantasy was never taught

Though I truly wanted to believe.

Oh, how I had wished Santa was real,

It would have made me so relieved.

 

There was no magic in the air

Or anticipation of what was to come.

Though I hoped for lots of presents

I was fortunate to receive even one.

 

And the little tree was an added nuisance.

And it always cost too much.

No center piece on the table

And never a Christmas brunch.

 

Though we had no fancy ornaments

We strung popcorn and paper chains,

And we always had a Christmas dinner

But there were never any games.

 

Mama and Daddy did what they could

With a crowd of five girls and a brother.

But Christmas memories held no excitement

Unless we invited others.

 

And those were the times I remember,

When we had lots of noise and fun,

And everyone brought a dish to pass

So out of food we would not run.

 

But the truth my mother taught

In her calloused, austere way

Was that Christmas happened because

Jesus was born on that day.

 

And never has that thought diminished

From earliest memories until now.

All the gifts we received in the past

Were temporal and did not last.

 

The only gift that survives forever

Is the one that Jesus gives.

And that was His gift of death

So that eternal life with Him we live.

 

His gift of life is the greatest gift

Made available to every soul.

It is the gift he offers to all

Through His salvation which makes man whole.

 

So I think mama did okay

By teaching me truth rather than fiction.

Through those early, impressionable years,

She pointed me in the right direction!