The Scent Of Pine Poem by Cynthia Buhain-baello

The soothing scent of pine trees
Brings those lovely memories,
As I close my eyes I'm back there
Amidst the sound of childhood laughter.

Mom and Dad, they're in the kitchen,
I smell the aroma of stuffed chicken!
Baked macaroni, ham on the table
Lots of fruits, Mom's upside down pineapple.

While my teenage sister's on the phone
Hair on rollers, words whispered tone.
On the stereo 'Blue Christmas' played
I'd rather have Ray Conniff's '12 Days'.

That age didn't really have much choice
But to listen to the drool of Elvis' voice,
Then they came, friends and everyone
Talking all together, all at once.

I had look up to see all their faces
Being small has disadvantages.
Those times smiles were quite plenty
Families were close, people seemed happy.

That night I remember we helped with the candy
Mom wondered why the Christmas socks were empty
She found out later when I couldn't eat the cake
I was down with a sad face, and a tummy ache.

My childhood Christmases they had that magic
We had real trees, we never had plastic
Yes, a lot of memories come from the scent of pine
But they're always wonderful, I know- they're mine.

All rights reserved ~~Cynthia Buhain-Baello~~~~11.23.13