The Smell of Christmas Trees
A poem + a story + a gentle push to write the thing
I have always loved Christmas. I love the time of year. I love giving gifts to people. I love the lights, the magic, the way that miracles seem like something that you can touch this season.
Four years ago, I wrote the following poem:
The Smell of Christmas Trees
My house smells like Christmas trees,
and I think it’s the most glorious smell
in the world right now.
We don’t even have our tree put up
yet — the smell is coming from a forest
green candle that is burning atop our
kitchen table.
It smells like fir trees and magic and
the promise of hope and what I imagine
a hug would smell like if a hug had a smell.
It smells like a smile, like a promise
of something bigger than myself,
something beautiful and good and true.
It smells like kindness, like generosity,
like compassion for strangers and an
outpouring of love for the ones whom
we carry in our hearts throughout our
days.
Cause when you strip away the tinsel,
and the lights, and the sugarplums and
the music — that’s what this season is all
about: kindness, and love, and hope,
and heart.
It’s about joy and laughter and paying
attention to how the light can change
something simple into a tiny miracle.
My house smells like Christmas trees,
and it’s the most glorious smell in the
world right now.I put it out into the universe to spread a little more joy and cheer on the internet during Christmastime.
Last year, an East Shropshire Talking Newspaper editor asked me if they could use this piece in their December paper. A talking newspaper is just what it sounds like - a newspaper for blind and visually impaired people that produces an audio digest of local news and general interest features.
I wrote that poem FOUR years ago - and then years later, a local talking newspaper in a small town across an entire ocean from where I live asked to publish it in their December issue.
Is that a Christmas miracle? Maybe. Or perhaps it’s just a reminder from the universe that you never know when, how, or who your writing will impact.
So, if you’re looking for a reason to keep writing - this is it. If you’re looking for a reason to finish or start the book - this is it. If you’re wondering if you should keep the words running on a loop in your head to yourself, I’m here to tell you to let them out. Write the book. The essay. The poem. The play. The journal entry. The letter.
Write it all down.