A Circle of Sweetness :: A Holiday Poem

A Circle of Sweetness

by Roxanne Rene
edited by SudoWrite

On Christmas Eve, Grammy eyed the wall,  

A table of confections in a silent hall.  

No family gathered to scarf down cake,  

No children to steal, no noses to flake.



Each year she baked, filling platters with sweets,  

Never a thought for who’d savor the treats.  

But now her pastries carved a hole in her chest—  

She longed for some bitterness, felt only emptiness.



No children to steal cookies left out for Saint Nick,  

Or dab her nose with whipped cream, thick.  

Each year she baked, letting Christmas fill  

The table with treats—her heart with goodwill.



But now, the sight of pastries brings ache,  

Memories cling to each pie she would make.  

She searched for the bitterness baking once bore,  

But emptiness echoed where sweetness was stored.



Stockings that once hung from mortar with care,  

Now lie in a heap; no Santa comes there.  

Nothing in stores could ever replace  

The small, happy things she yearns to retrace.



The smell of fresh coffee in dawn’s early light,  

Warm cake from the microwave, gentle and right.  

The sound of dry laughter, a soft, loving voice—  

Her other half gone, her happiness but a noise.



But Christmas morning brings soft, eager knocks— 

A chorus of laughter, boots wet on the rocks. 

Grammy stirs, heart thumping with doubt, 

Then opens her door as the children pour out.

 

Arms full of presents, their faces aglow, 

They thank her for sweetness she gave long ago. 

Her kitchen, once empty, now brimming with song— 

She finds in their joy where she truly belongs.

 

A gift wrapped in kindness, in laughter and light, 

Grammy smiles, her heart feather-light. 

For love, once given, will find its way back— 

A circle of sweetness that never will lack.