A Lifetime of Christmas Poetry
My mom, Raynette Forister Eitel, passed away in September of 2022, age 85, drifting away into dementia. It was tragic to watch this woman who loved words, who was a poet and teacher, fade away into wordlessness after a lifetime of crafting poetry.
Mom had a tradition of writing a new Christmas poem each year and sending it to friends and relatives. The mailing list grew each year, and people always told us they looked forward to mom’s Christmas poems. She published some in a couple little books. There are too many to post just once a day during the month of December, but I’ll choose some of the best.
Christmas Past
by Raynette Eitel
Written after the death of our dad, her husband Paul Forister, in 1977.
The Ghost of Christmas Past
Lives in the flames which dance
A merry December frolic
Beneath old stockings hung with care.
I am caught in the spell of phantom friends
Singing Silent Night just above the crackle,
Arms beckoning me into the hallowed glow
Of all that I have loved.
Just for this season will I sit and stare
And dare to play awhile with fire.
Then warmed, I turn my back
And walk into the cold New Year.
Writing Rhetorically 