“Gifts”
faithful friends who are dear to us …
This Christmas I find myself reliving the joy
of a December New York City evening
near Lincoln Center with my poet friend, Tim,
that frigid night we came upon a man playing
an old upright piano on the sidewalk.
Above the screech of taxi brakes and police sirens
he played Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
as if it were the most natural thing in the world
to be sitting at a piano on a wintery city sidewalk.
Across the street were the Metropolitan Opera
and New York Philharmonic but we believed
we were hearing the best concert in town so
we began to sing along and, between the two of us,
remembered most of the words that came out
of our mouths as steam into the freezing air.
For those minutes we joined a complete stranger
in song amidst the blare of West 63rdStreet
and it’s the recollection of such gifts I cherish
this season when memories decorate my heart
and remind me to mark the blessings of my life
with a celebration of song, a serenade of love.