What happens when the lights go down?

What happens when the lights go down?
They have been up for far too long,
Christmas starts in October, that’s too soon.
But I do like the lights, they light up my way home.
Bublée, Bing and Mariah have been blasting the merry tunes
As we shop, eat and dance.
Surely it’s time for them to go,
Christmas is too much of a rodeo.

What happens when the lights go down?
We have been throughly stuffed
And smiled graciously at another pair of socks.
Felt sad that Christmas just doesn’t feel the same as it used to.

What happens when the lights go down?
January.
This is the actual bleak mid winter.

What happens when the lights go down?
Nothing to twinkle as I rush through town in the dark.
The Yuletide carols being sung by a choir have stopped,
Christmas is a distant memory.
No distractions, perhaps less family tension,
But what is there to look forward to?

What happens when the lights go down?
Can I remember why we bother with Christmas anyway?
All I long for is another holiday.
But on this silent night,
This sadness I feel in the dark,
I must remember why we thought of Christmas at all.

See what happens when the lights go down?
We remember anyway, the One who came came at Christmas,
He sat with the ones in the doorway,
The ones in need,
The ones who wouldn’t listen,
The ones who were unsure or lonely.
He is there in every moment:
Every moment that I am convinced He is real and good and true
And every moment that I am not so sure anymore.

What happens when the lights go down?
I feel sad that it’s over,
Relieved to not have to feel jolly the whole time
And worried what this New Year might hold.
But I hold tight to the One who came in the dark and lit up the night,
I find His light never goes out.

~ Claire Dent