How Do You Hide a Broken Heart Because It’s Christmas

How Do You Hide a Broken Heart Because It’s Christmas

The tree stands proud with lights that never judge,

they blink like joy has never left this room.

I place the gifts beneath with careful hands,

my heart is wrapped in silence under there.

Songs fill the air with promises of peace,

they speak of home and warmth and better days.

I mouth the words and feel the crack inside,

the tune moves on without a second glance.

I wear my smile like festive paper thin,

creased at the edges from too much use.

Family asks if everything is fine,

I nod and sip the lie I always serve.

Memories crowd the corners of the room,

faces that should be sitting near the fire.

Their absence hums beneath the tinsel shine,

a sound that only grief can ever hear.

How do you hide a heart that cannot mend,

when joy is measured by the noise you make.

I laugh a little louder than I feel,

the effort leaves me trembling at the sink.

Cards say love always finds its way back home,

the ink feels brave, the message feels unsure.

I place them neatly on the windowsill,

they watch the snow fall where I cannot go.

Midnight arrives with all its quiet truth,

the day has asked too much and taken all.

I sit alone with wrapping on the floor,

and let the tears arrive without excuse.

Tomorrow comes with leftover cheer,

the world moves on and calls this season kind.

I fold my broken heart away again,

until next year asks how I manage still.