Once Upon A Christmas (Poetry)

There is this house where no one lives
none recall its owner’s name
it’s a place where passing cold sneaks in
through a broken window pane

Four grim walls and a high pitched roof
barren floors none living walk
not a single echo of a sound
nor a hint of bygone talk

The air hangs foggy as a veil
old-smelling — stale and thick
a moth-holed coat hooked on a nail
the cloth once red as brick

There’s a wooden table and a chair
finely-carved but badly wormed
all set before a blacklead grate
where homely fires had burned

But the very saddest sight of all
is a card upon the shelf
sending Yuletide wishes — Peace & Joy
one lone greeting — nothing else

Undisturbed for years the grey dust sits
in this chill abandoned room
Winter ghosts who knew that last warm scene
hover in the breathless gloom

No one knows their human history
though the clues would seem to say
something close to tragic happened here
once upon a Christmas Day