The first week of each year
Beckons an annual ritual of gratitude.
With gathered stationery paraphernalia
I sit down at the dining table
And pen letters of recognition to
Each giver of gifts, hospitality and love.
A silent ceremony transpires
In sifting through piles of hoarded blank cards
In matching inside greetings to exterior envelope
In pairing colored paper to their destined recipient.
The design of each note
Harkens me back to
Standing in an aisle over a row of clear-front boxes
Or at a boutique’s display island,
Weighing the myriad options
-- Formal, fruity, joyful or reverent --
Pondering which card style best encapsulates
My thanks, my wit, my heart.
And now here at my perch,
With my flock of chosen ones
I begin to write
Dear Auntie; Dear Dad.
Wet ink bleeds into matte cardstock.
Swirls and lines become
My offering of gratitude
As I remember the material culture
The sacred items
That my loved ones had too
Stood in an aisle
Or over a kitchen island
Deliberating
Discerning
Aligning to me
Procuring or producing on my behalf.
For all the angst and iterations
Last fall that I
Had exerted in my own gift search
— For white elephant exchanges
For parental appreciation
For benevolent hosts
For dearest progeny —
Here I find peace.
When I capture my appreciation
The words flow swiftly
With truth and conviction
With a tear here, a wide grin there
As I recall the splendor of my holidays.
Basked in memories,
I warm from the embrace of invisible arms.
I ease each folded card
Into their appointed envelope
Scrawl atop it the intended party
And their global coordinates.
I slide the moistener
Across the V of each flap
Pressing to fuse the two layers
Down and out, thrice,
My habitual assurity of closure.
Once postage stamp and return address and festive seal
Adorn each letter,
I cannot resist the urge to begin their transit.
The mailbox will not do;
I drive to the regional depot
Slide the heavy stack
Into the bowels of
The winter-chilled metal
Of the Postal blue First Class Mailbox.
May they arrive promptly;
Uncreased,
Carrying with them the spirit of our connection
And with my deepest thanks.
