This Christmas, the family will gather
As it has done this time each year
Nothing stops the gathering
Of the hearts from far and near
The table will be set for dinner
With a feast of goodies galore
There will be a lot of food, cause at Christmas
We always have room for more
This Christmas will see our sorrow
Because there are seats that won’t be filled
It’s those seats that once held the ones that we love
But they aren’t here, as we would have willed
Our hearts are lost without them
But it’s our hearts that still need to belong
To the family that’s left behind to grieve
For the family that is gone
As we gather around the table
Our eyes glimpse the empty seats
It’s joy we need, but we doubt it will come
Because of our grief and tears
Those empty seats at Christmas
Will be there till eternity comes
But there is hope for us that they will be filled
At the coming of the Son
And then we will gather with a Family again
At the most amazing Feast
No doubt then, Joy will be there
Because there will be no empty seats
© Ruby Neumann
Poet's note:
Christmas 2017 rolled around and I tabulated the significant losses of friends and family of the year and came up with six faces that had wouldn't be filling seats at a Christmas dinner table. My nephew, my aunt, a cousin, the lead singer of my husband's band and two long-time friends of the family. There were a lot of empty seats at the 2017 Christmas tables. This poem was written just days before we sat down at that table.
