Better Than Anyone I Know

Yellowed tissue paper,
lining department store boxes,
cardboard memories;
inside, candy heart reminiscences
continue to beat
in the back of my mind
and chocolate bunnies
melted over fifty years
mold a sweet recollect;
clay treasures, homemade cards
hid where only a mother knows
old spice and dime store ties
though worn, still cloud my eyes.

Fireworks reflected
in a little girl's eyes'
light up the dark years ever since,
and forever summers
still linger through these laboring days
while maple and oaks
once more lose their hair
dressing the streets
in a costume of reds and gold's
as death is so alluringly disguised.

Waking aromas of turkey and pumpkin pie
marching soldiers, floating parades
makes me want to go to sleep,
to go on where memories alone
fail to take me,
dreams of loved ones
dancing in my head,
where you Mom and Dad
still do Christmas
better than anyone I know.