This time of the year
While we anticipate new gifts
Maybe we could take some time
To examine those unexpected old boxes
Filled with hopes or heartbreaks
Love or longings
Light or darkness

Gifted graciously by life
And all its hardships
Or passed down the generations
Unopened

Maybe they long to be received
Unwrapped
And released
In the living rooms
Of our collective presence

~ Manish Srivastava
(25 Dec 2023)

Inspired by a poem by Mary Oliver

Someone I loved
once gave me a box
full of darkness.
It took me years to understand
that this, too,
was a gift.

— Mary Oliver

Image created on Canva.com