Old Lady Christmas Shopping
She gathers up her meager Christmas gifts
And stows them safely in her shopping bag,
She mumbles to herself and nods her head,
Pulls off a little tell-tale bargain tag,
Counts off the items on a pencilled slip,
Enjoying to the full her shopping trip.
For one she buys a tiny beaded purse
And someone gets a hankie frail and sheer,
A little favourite nephew gets a book
Where knights in armour and a cavalier
Ride out to battle clad in bright array,
In all the trappings of a by-gone day.
She looks at crystal with a longing eye,
Gloats over china of a loved design,
Holds up a figurine with cautious hands,
Buys Christmas wrappings and a spool of twine,
Gets a stuffed dog with little scarlet paws
A tiny reindeer and a Santa Claus.
For one short season of the age-long year
She lets her generous heart hold happy sway,
Buying her little gifts with careful hands,
To match the joyful spirit of the day,
Denying her own need that she might share
The love that is like music in the air.
~ Edna Jaques
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