Tangled Christmas Lights

Tangled Christmas Lights
A poem for the grieving
By Kate Duncan

Turkey and stuffing fill the fridge, 
leftovers abundant, 
To nourish you 
through empty days ahead.

Christmas bins call from the attic– 
An unwelcomed welcome 
Of joy, anguish, and nostalgia.

Their silent contents 
shout loud emotion.
Treasured decor, tiny fingerprints, 
and photos from Christmases past
Carry sweet memories
Suddenly disrupted. 

Now bittersweet.

Tangled Christmas lights 
wrap your heart instead of your tree– 
Complicated, knotted, 
and seemingly impossible to wrestle with.
You wonder: Will my heart still beat?

One lightbulb dimming… a faint flicker.
Another bulb burned out– irreplaceable.
A circuit broken.
Bulbs shattered
Scatter the bright glow of the past.

Yet still the tangled lights call
To be lifted, 
To embrace what once brought 
illumination and cheer. 

Sorrow and joy,
Anger and gratitude,
Wind themselves around you
In the tangled Christmas lights.