Angel And The Star

His heart was breaking as he put the lights upon the tree.
In his mind he thought, "This year, why do it just for me?"
His wife of twenty-seven years had passed away this spring,
And as the Christmas carols played he knew he couldn't sing.

He was trimming all alone the way they always had,
But listening to the music play had only made him sad.
He told himself "the kids are coming Christmas to see me,"
And that's the only reason he was messing with this tree.

He tried to hide his sadness when his children were around,
The last thing that he wanted was to bring their spirits down.
So with memories in his mind and tears upon his face,
The last thing that he had to do was put the star in place.

His wife had always loved that star they bought it their first year,
He never liked it, he had said, "An angel should be here."
He had never liked the fact a star was up on top,
But now that she was gone he knew there was no way to stop.

He finished with the Christmas tree and all the lights were lit,
And he observed the Christmas tree from where his wife would sit.
He thought of all the Christmas days together they both had,
And never realized one day that Christmas would be sad.

So as he watched the Christmas tree with memories all about,
The star upon the top of it just flickered and went out.
He knew his wife had kept a box of ornaments for spares,
It was on the top shelf in the closet by the stairs.

They had never used them; she had stored them just in case,
She kept them there because the top shelf always had some space.
So as he went to get the box to see what was inside,
He wondered why it happened now and as he went he cried.

He took the box back to his chair and opened it up slow,
He wondered what she had in it, he had no way to know.
Extra lights and extra bulbs and something wrapped in gold,
He wondered what was in it as he started to unfold.

He opened up the package but he could not understand,
It was a tree top angel and a star was in her hand.
A note was scribbled on the box, his wife had put it there,
Emotion overwhelmed him as he sat there in his chair.

The note said, "Merry Christmas, love this is your gift this year."
I knew someday the star would fade, so here's your angel, dear."
"I found this little angel, and she's holding up a star,
And now on top we'll have them both shining where they are."

He smiled because he knew that she had planned to see his face,
The minute that he put the angel on the tree top place.
He put the angel on the tree where the old star had been,
And in his heart he knew his lovely wife was watching him.

The tears were running down his face as he plugged in the tree,
One day he'd be with her again like it was meant to be.
He knew she wasn't present but she wasn't very far,
Then they would be together like the angel and the star.

~ James A. Kisner ~

[ by James A. Kisner © 2003 (PoppyK1@aol.com) -- {used with permission} ]