Christmas is Always
A poem about Christmas wherever it is celebrated.

Christmas is Always
D. A. Ratliff
Christmas is not always glistening white with a blanket of icy snow.
Sometimes, it is green from the pines and red from clay that squishes through our toes.
Christmas is not always a fireplace with a roaring fire, warm and toasty.
Sometimes, it is bar-b-que with smoldering charcoal, aromatic and roasty.
Christmas is not always a sleigh ride through a forest by horses.
Sometimes, it is running on the beach where the low tide courses.
Christmas is not always a tasty holiday pudding laden with plum.
Sometimes, it is pecan pie with a splash of tropical rum.
Christmas is not always elegant ornaments adorning the holiday tree.
Sometimes, it is sand dollars, and pinecones collected all for free.
Christmas is, however, always about faith, family, and love for a reason.
Sometimes, no matter where we celebrate, there is always joy for the season.

Author's Note: I am not a poet but while reading the poems written by many true poets on Vocal, this little verse came to me. Growing up in South Carolina, my Christmas was of the "not always" variety, but the joy of the season remained the same. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!
About the Creator
D. A. Ratliff
A Southerner with saltwater in her veins, Deborah lives in the Florida sun and writes murder mysteries. She is published in several anthologies and her first novel, Crescent City Lies, is scheduled for release in the winter of 2025.


Comments (3)
This was so good! I had a Christmas in Perth, Australia one year and it was hot! We spent it on the beach - so different but so good. As long as Christmas is in your heart, you can be anywhere. I loved this!
Great work and you are so right, but I prefer the snowy cold of PA over the warm and wet of Louisiana at this time of year.
Very nice! It's a timely, important reminder that not everyone's Christmas is the same.