As Christmas Day approaches, please remember that the holidays are not merry and bright for everyone. This poem asks us to think of those who are lonely, hungry and struggling ... those who are Unremembered.
Unremembered
Holiday lights sparkle on fresh fallen snow
Soft snowflakes that blanket the world
Lovers strolling past brightly lit shops
Remind them they’ve nowhere to go.
Families gather together at tables to dine
Carollers sing Christmas songs in the night
Logs crackle merrily in stone fireplaces
But they sit alone, although not by design.
They are the forgotten, unremembered by life
The lonely, the sick, the old and the poor
Homeless and faithless, the drunk and the whore
The lost and unseen, their lives filled with strife.
They who are lucky receive baskets of food
To stave off the hunger it’s rationed from fear
While those of the streets line up at the doors
To wait for the handouts from those doing good.
But what feeds the souls of those unremembered
Whose voice warms the chill in their hearts
What arms hold those who are starving for love
And succours the dreams that lay bespattered.
Who prays for their comfort and then follows through
With good deeds done with cheer through the year
And cares for the ones who hold grief in their soul
To bring light to the lonely, their hope to renew.
In this holiday season, may we remember those
Poor in spirit, the lost, they who hunger, who mourn
All those unremembered, those forgotten by life
For humanity’s sake, I pray, let our eyes not close.
© J C Edwards