Christmas Eve As A Child Poem by Walterrean Salley

In spite of my longing,
Nothing can bring back
The Christmas Eves
Of my childhood.

Filled with joy, and due
Anticipation—
It was the “day” that
We’d waited for all year long.

There was always a warm,
Cozy fire.
And lots of fruits, candy
And delicious pastries.

Going to bed early was a must
And it was hard falling asleep—
Wondering if we had been
Good enough that Santa
Should remember us.
No one wanted to be forgotten
At Christmastime.

At dawn, we arose and headed
For the Christmas tree—
Hoping that Santa had left
Some goodies, as he always did:
Clothes and toys—
Our very heart’s desire.

Each child’s name was written
On their neatly wrapped gift;
And, oh, the fun we had
Unwrapping them.

Christmas Eve was
Worth the wait;
But Christmas was the icing
On the cake.