A Christmas Day Is Every Day

by Robert M Wilson

A Christmas day is every day, not one date in December,

A special birth, haloed in light, which some choose to remember.

Just once a year neglects the truth that birthing never ceases,

So seen by those who see, in which the living world increases.

As well, the birthdays we observe for family and friends

Should not suggest forgetting other times what life intends.

Each waking is a childbirth,

as sure as sleep is death,

A momentary passing

on the rhythmic wind of breath.

For presents-

only one cries out,

the one that's most ignored,

A gift unprized because it's free,

yet easiest to hoard,

Requiring neither ribbons nor a package for its worth--

The present of full presence

at our ever-present birth.

No days, no night, just flowing streams

and shades of constant light

Need constant celebration

just as long as there is sight.