If I could be any house
I’d be the Christmas house
on my corner, a beacon
that comes out once a year
to show people the way home.
I’d cover myself in fairy lights.
I’d wrap my feet in shiny paper.
I’d pinch my nose till it was glowing.
I’d dream of summer snow.
And I’d be Christmas for all of you,
I’d be Christmas right up to the moon.
And the blush of light would hold us
like a snowglobe in somebody’s palm
and all around our huddled forms
would be a trembling, sparkling calm.
And when the decorations were packed away
I would keep shining in the dark.
Lighting up the hopes of those who pass,
showing those hopes for what they are:
the fairy lights of the heart.
–Sarah Stanton
