Humanist Voices in Verse: Ghosts of Christmas Past

We’re featuring a new poem by James C. Coomer. He is emeritus professor of political science and former Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Mercer University. He has held faculty and administrations positions at the University of Houston and at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. He is the author of several books and his collection of poems, A Lifetime of Yesterdays, is available through all e-book distributors.

If you’d like to contribute original poetry to Humanist Voices in Verse, write to hnn@americanhumanist.org with “Poetry” in the subject line. Please send no more than three poems for consideration per week.

Ghosts of Christmas Past

It charms the Dickins out of me to think
My ghosts of Christmas past are really ghosts
Who hoped to be among the heavenly hosts
And raise their Alleluias all in sinc.
An aunt, all corseted and quite aloof
Would deign to bless our house and nod to all
Then place a tiny contribution in the hall
While benedicting all beneath the roof.
Grandparents, aunts and uncles, carols sung,
Would flow in ceaseless stream through our small house
And we, in turn, to them our tribute pay.
I knew them then, when all the world was young,
The ghosts who always Christmas time arouse
To come and bless my house on Christmas Day.

—James C. Coomer