remember when you were little
and you walked through the thin blanket of snow with your knee-high rubber boots,
the scent of peppermint wafting through the air,
you weaved in and out of the rows of pine trees, imagining thousands of presents
wrapped up with shiny bows and bright red wrapping paper,
all for you?
remember when you used to
make your dad take you sledding on the coldest day of the year
just to feel the wind in your face and the snow in your hair
and to walk home, soaked from head to toe,
to warm up with a cup of hot chocolate made with love by your mom?
remember in the third grade
when you drew yourself and the elementary-school hottie
kissing under the misteltoe?
your art teacher yelled at you, but you didn't care.
you just laughed.
remember when you kissed your boyfriend merry christmas
and happy new year
and every day in between
before you kissed him goodbye?
remember the christmas eve when your whole family was together
and you sat around the fire and told stories and whispered secrets and ate muffins and cake and drank eggnog?
remember when christmas used to be filled with joy and love?
when did it fade into any other day of the year?
when did you stop putting marshmallows in your hot chocolate and stopped wearing thick snow jackets?
when did you stop putting out cookies for santa claus and one for each of his reindeer?
when did the snow stop making you smile, because you knew things weren't that simple anymore?
