An Atheist's Christmas Poem

Christmas is that day each year
when friends and family gather near,
when lights and tinsel are arranged,
and gifts and greetings are exchanged.
But lights and tinsel can't express
my gratitude and happiness,
and gifts and greetings fail to say
how much I love you all today.

It matters not what hymns we sing
since none but us are listening.
The gods we praise, the myths we tell-
without them we'd do just as well.
For Christmas has a greater cause
than Jesus Christ or Santa Claus,
than three kings humble on their knees,
or tinkling bells and false fir trees.

It rests in your exhausted mind,
the patch of peace that's left behind
when stress and anger break your heart
and, having done their bit, depart.
It sleeps until the longest night,
emerging rested, strong and bright
to warm the chilled December air
and help delight to drown despair.

Christmas is the joy we hold
more priceless than the rarest gold,
the time we share with ones we love,
the wealth there is no measure of:
an outstretched hand, a warm embrace,
a joke, a laugh, a smiling face,
a tender kiss, a cheerful song,
a day to last a whole year long.