ACCEPTING CHRISTMAS LOVE IN A GATHERING OF HEARTS

                                        A
                                    <       >
                                      V V
                                        A
                                     week
                                   remains.
                               All the prep-
                               arations are
                          nearly completed.
                      The house is clean and
                   dressed up. Boughs of green-
                        ery hang in sweeping
                   arcs, bringing symmetry to a
              celebration well planned. Every boy,
           girl woman and man, join hands in bowed
                 prayer for a day molded on peace
             and love; above all else, the birth of a
        child brought to the world to sacrifice in order
              to make a nice life rife with meaning.
              And taking time to share in that spirit,
          aside from the hustle and bustle of hurried
        desperation seems to get lost in the shuffle.
     But, when evening comes to call and all will gather
  in heart, near hearth or around the tree, a communion
                                     of love lights
                                     every happy
                                     face brightly.


Walt