The Unforgettable Christmas

She lit the candles by the tree,
Each flame a wish for what could be.
The snow fell soft, the world aglow,
A dream of love she used to know.

Their laughter once had filled these halls,
Their plans etched deep on future’s walls.
A home, a garden, children’s cries,
A lifetime promised beneath wide sky.

Her heart held hope through dark nights,
Through whispers, flickering lights.
She watched the door, her soul alight,
Hoping he would return tonight.

But dreams are fragile, glass in hand,
War slices the land, blood spilled, bones scattered
The knock came late, a solemn sound,
Her world upright, heart unshackled.

The coffin came, draped red and white,
A soldier's death, a widow's life.
The plans they had, the life they aspired,
Now six feet under the soil.

She knelt beside the cold, still wood,
Her tears where love and despair stood.
A Christmas of lifelong grief,
Hope lost to fate’s cruel thief.