I have a list of folks I know, all written in a book...
And every year when Christmas comes, I go and take a look...
And that is when I realize that these names are a part...
Not of the book they're written in, but of my very heart...
For each name stands for someone who has crossed my path sometime...
And in the meeting they've become the rhythm in each rhyme...
And while it sounds fantasic for me to make this claim...
I really feel that I'm composed of each remembered name...
And while you may not be aware of any special link...
Just meeting you has shaped my life a lot more than you think...
For once I've met somebody, the years cannot erase...
The memory of a pleasent word or of a friendly face...
So never think my Christmas cards are just a mere routine...
Of names upon a Christmas list, forgotten in between...
For when I send a Christmas card that is addressed to you...
It's because you're on that list of folks whom I'm indebted to...
For I am but the total of many folks I've met...
And you happen to be one of those I prefer not to forget...
For If I've known you many years or only just a few...
In some way, be it large or small, I own myself to you...
And every year when Christmas comes, I realize anew...
The best gift life can offer is meeting folks like you...
So Merry, Merry Christmas and no words can suffice...
To say how much your friendship means to
Helen Steiner Rice
Christmas, 1949
