Dear Friend,

It’s Christmas Eve and I haven’t yet heard a word. Waves crash the shores and the light house searches for your ship in the harbor. The oil in my lamp burns low in this midnight hour. There remains a hope in me despite my impending loneliness. This is the first Christmas I’ve spent alone.

The stars are out and I can see homes lit up for miles. And yet, here I am, in this attic, beneath the firelight as warmth turns to cold, as love turns to loss. Make it home dear friend, sail your ship beyond the sea and let the anchor fall. I wait for you dear friend, I’ve been waiting for you since the moment of my conception.

I know not what is bestowed upon me, only what I have to bestow. My pockets are empty, but there are gifts for you yet. In my absence I give you love that you may sprinkle your days with the laughter of god. In my tears I give you joy that you might water the earth and let it bring forth all good things. In my sorrow I give you comfort that your beauty salt the earth, not by the outward, but the inward. Lastly dear friend, in the hour of my death I bestow upon you life, that you may live without ceasing.

Do you hear it? Do you hear the water on the rocks? The waves have calmed. Look, first the stars show the night. I hear a voice on the seas. Is it you?

“For I am going to lay me down
the fire is dying, the stars have come out
For I am going out to the sea
He’s waiting, he’s watching, he’s calling to me.”

J M Prater