Christmas 2020

 Christmas 2020

By May K

Empty chairs and vacant halls

Lonely streets and quiet malls

Christmas is here, the façade's the same

But oh everything seems so changed

Absence and echoes where there were none before

Missing footprints on the snow fall

A screen on a phone for a smile to our face

A meal alone instead of a gathering place

Oh where's the Christmas heart and cheer?

Where’s the spirit that rejoices the year?

Where's the laughter? The joy? The fun?

Where's the promise? Where's the Son?

Sometimes it feels to ask in vain

In the silent tomb of pain

Sometimes it feels like empty space

Is all the fills this gathering place

Yet as the lone meal is set

I hear a voice saying, “Don’t forget!”

And somehow it seems to me

This place isn’t quite so empty

For a promise has filled the void

A remembrance I can’t avoid

Of times now past, of times to be

That our now is not eternity

And at the table, across time and space

I see into that eternal place

Where all are gathered together as one

To celebrate the birth of the Son

I see them there, our family

Unbroken by sorrow or misery

Cheers and laughter with glasses raised

The air singing with songs of praise

A promise, a remembrance, as the vision fades

And before me the lone meal is laid

For though this moment we must be strong

It’s to that hope that we belong

So as I sit alone, I’ll pray

And say thanks for this Christmas day

For that promise to which I hold on

And Thank God for my savior was born

Merry Christmas, Everyone. Still. 

Copyright © 2020 by Kwek Yi Zhen

The Chair beneath the Tree

The Chair beneath the Tree

By May K.

How forlorn that chair is

Resting there on its own

How sad and grim it is

That companionable seat, alone

There ought to be a soul there

Content beneath the tree

Where with the souls of nature

It could be set free

Or perhaps two souls could rest

On that plain old chair

For to talk of pasts and of futures

Requires a charming air

Or maybe three could cast

A lovely and joyful spell

One for the past, one for the present

And one for the future as well

But whatever it is

Leave not this chair alone

For a place meant for others

Should never be on its own

Copyright © 2020 by Kwek Yi Zhen

Hoping and waiting

Hoping and Waiting

By May K

Days come and nights pass

The sun rises and the moon sets

Time flows with terrible consistency

And all is soon! But not yet

Not yet. The time has not come

But who knows when it will?

For how long will I stand by the door

And continue waiting still?

For a sign, for a promise

For a tomorrow I still believe

Will come if I keep on waiting

And grant my heart some relief

For it’s burdened with hope as I stand

Waiting at the door

And until the last second falls

I’ll hope and hope some more

In spite of fears, in spite of doubts

For hope’s a tenacious beast

That has latched onto my heart

With a hold it will not release

But oh it’s trying to wait

To see the sunset and nothing more

To let hope fade and then grow

So I can wait some more

To fall with pain, to sooth with sighs

To stand up with a persistent smile

But I’ve done it for years

What more’s a little while?

So I’ll stand by the door

For lo! Tomorrow’s coming

And so long as it comes

I’ll keep on hoping and waiting

Copyright © 2020 by Kwek Yi Zhen