The log was in the fireplace, 
all spiced and set to burn. 
At last the yearly Christmas race 
was in the clubhouse turn. 
The cards were in the mail, 
all the gifts beneath the tree. 
And 30 days reprieve till VISA 
could catch up with me. 

Though smug satisfaction 
seemed the order of the day,
Something still was nagging me 
and would not go away. 

A week before, I got a letter 
from my old great Aunt. 
It read: Of course I'll understand 
completely if you can't, 
But if you find you have some time 
how wonderful if we 
Could have a little chat and share 
a cup of Christmas tea. 

She'd had a mild stroke that year 
which crippled her left side. 
Though house bound now, 
my folks had said 
it hadn't hurt her pride.
They said: She'd love to see you. 
What a nice thing it would be 
For you to go and maybe have 
a cup of Christmas tea.

But boy! I didn't want to go. 
Oh, what a bitter pill, 
To see an old relation and 
how far she'd gone downhill. 
I remembered her as vigorous, 
as funny and as bright. 
I remembered Christmas Eves when 
she regaled us half the night.

I didn't want to risk all that. 
I didn't want the pain. 
I didn't need to be depressed. 
I didn't need the strain. 

And what about my brother? 
Why not him? She's his aunt, too! 
I thought I had it justified, 
but then before I knew, 
The reasons not to go I so 
painstakingly had built 
Were cracking wide and crumbling 
in an acid rain of guilt.

I put on boots and gloves and cap, 
shame stinging every pore. 
And armed with squeegee, 
sand and map, 
I went out my front door. 
I drove in from the suburbs 
to the older part of town. 
The pastels of the newer homes 
gave way to gray and brown.

I had that disembodied feeling 
as the car pulled up and stopped 
Beside the wooden house 
that held the Christmas cup.
How I got up to her door 
I really couldn't tell... 
I watched my hand rise up and press 
the button of the bell. 

I waited, aided by my nervous 
rocking to and fro. 
And just as I was thinking 
I should turn around and go, 
I heard the rattle of the china 
in the hutch against the wall. 
The triple beat of two feet 
and a crutch came down the hall. 

The clicking of the door latch 
and the sliding of the bolt, 
And a little swollen struggle 
popped it open with a jolt. 
She stood there pale and tiny, 
looking fragile as an egg. 
I forced myself from staring 
at the brace that held her leg.

And though her thick bifocals 
seemed to crack and spread her eyes,
Their milky and refracted depths 
lit up with young surprise. 
Come in! Come in! 
She laughed the words. 
She took me by the hand. 
And all my fears dissolved away 
as if by her command.

We went inside and then before 
I knew how to react 
Before my eyes and ears and nose 
was Christmas past, alive, intact!

The scent of candied oranges, 
of cinnamon and pine, 
The antique wooden soldiers 
in their military line, 
The porcelain Nativity 
I'd always loved so much, 
The Dresden and the crystal 
I'd been told I mustn't touch.

My spirit fairly bolted 
like a child out of class 
And danced among the ornaments 
of calico and glass. 
Like magic I was six again, 
deep in a Christmas spell. 
Steeped in the million memories 
That the boy inside knew well. 

And here among old Christmas cards 
so lovingly displayed, 
A special place of honor 
for the ones we kids had made. 
And there, beside her rocking chair, 
the center of it all, 
My great Aunt stood and said how nice 
it was I'd come to call.

I sat and rattled on about 
the weather and the flu. 
She listened very patiently 
then smiled and said, "What's new?"
Thoughts and words began to flow. 
I started making sense. 
I lost the phony breeziness 
I use when I get tense.

She was still passionately interested 
in everything I did. 
She was positive. Encouraging. 
Like when I was a kid. 
Simple generalities 
still sent her into fits. 
She demanded the specifics. 
The particulars. The bits. 

We talked about the limitations 
that she'd had to face. 
She spoke with utter candor 
and with humor and good grace. 
Then defying the reality 
of crutch and straightened knee, 
On wings of hospitality 
she flew to brew the tea. 

I sat alone with feelings that 
I hadn't felt in years. 
I looked around at Christmas 
through a thick hot blur of tears. 
And the candles and the holly 
she'd arranged on every shelf, 
The impossibly good cookies 
she still somehow baked herself. 

But these rich and tactile memories 
became quite pale and thin, 
When measured by the Christmas 
my great Aunt kept deep within.
Her body halved and nearly spent, 
but my great Aunt was whole. 
I saw a Christmas miracle, 
the triumph of a soul. 

The triple beat of two feet and a 
crutch came down the hall, 
The rattle of the china 
in the hutch against the wall. 
She poured two cups. She smiled and then she handed one to me. 
And then we settled back and had 
a cup of Christmas tea.