When you’re sitting down to turkeys and hams,
remember those in far-off lands
and even people in your street
who do not have enough to eat.
When your family is gathered near,
remember those who cower in fear
whose loved ones are lost or dead
as songs of war sing overhead.
When you sit with port and swollen belly
to watch the King’s message on the telly,
remember those hostages still not home,
chained in some far-off catacomb.
When your faces are aglow with joy
as child by child unwraps a toy,
remember the pain on the jobless’ faces
explaining how Santa had to skip their places.
When you’re frolicking afterwards by the sea,
I’ll tell you what my Christmas wish would be:
that you would set the glitz and froth apart
and love your fellow humans with all your heart.
by Andrew M. Bell
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