Linking Hands

Holiday seasons arrive, festive tables are set
with the clanging of forks, knives and spoons
Coats and scarfs are strewn on couches and beds
Gathering of Moms and Dads, Uncles and aunts
Familiar faces evince some with feigned smiles
others with crumpled frowns
where gravity has gradually been winning
the challenge of taught cheeks and eyebrows
a noticeably changing landscape of folds and aging spots
A high traffic of piercing chatter and high pitch screams
from Nephews, Nieces and cousins
only previously heard of in conversation
now run by appearing from around the corners of other rooms
Unfamiliar voices fill the room
they share the now busy space in the kitchen and TV room
The waft of sweet and mashed potatoes with gravy
freshly baked rolls , greens and turkey await carnivorous consumption
The clinking of glass with ice inside swirling interrupts
A moment of reflections and thoughts sharply cut into
the chaos of voices as reminiscence and melancholy
enter the room
Then the holding of hands
some smaller lost in the larger
as circle of souls and hearts in the room are linked
then one voice speaks to a common deity
thanking for the spiritual intervention of this gathering
and wishing those less fortunate
the alone, the lonely, are also touched