Small Town Holidays

Turning up my collar against the cold

As I stroll whimsically down familiar roads

Comfortable knowing who resides in most abodes

There the old cinema where I experienced wonders

Exclaimed at movie marvels, laughed at comic blunders

While holding my first girls hand as my rapid heart thunders

Nearby the drive through where I spent teenaged dates

Mostly ignoring the screen as I fumbled at the gates

Trying to explore life, love, mystery and the fates

At the end of the block the meandering river

Where I swam, played, and sometimes shivered

Many childhood joys were there delivered

It was there on a blanket by the shore

I first tasted love and learned the lore

Every young person truly yearns for

On that curb right there I wrecked my first bike

Scratched my knees and hands and to home had to hike

While my buddy Timmy laughed but truly without spite

Every step a walk down Memory Lane

Some sad, it’s true, but most like sugar cane

A sweetly nostalgic taste keeping me sane

Friends and neighbors are walking by

Smiling, nodding, mingling, or just saying hi

Happy to pass time together neath evening sky

Talking of life and naught in particular

People known forever, all different yet similar

Few are the faces not recognized and familiar

In town square the annual Christmas tree is decorated

Festooned with lights, tinsel, and ornaments lovingly fabricated

A small town holiday tradition joyfully celebrated

Once I thought of leaving this little place

In search of a larger more opportune space

A more rapid tempo, a different pace

Now I realize as I smile at people I know

Christmas is better here in the small town glow

Where people actually care and let it show

I’d miss the square dance, the bake off, the county fair

The barber who knows just exactly how I like my hair

I’d miss knowing here I need no hidden lair

For this Christmas season of giving, as well as others

True meaning is found in company of familiar brothers

Hope for the future in friends, neighbors and lovers

Merry Christmas All