I Still Believe in Christmas--By Zona Rowand Lawrence--United States

I Still Believe in Christmas

A baby in a manger

And all it means to me

Welcoming the stranger –

Wise men on their knees

Cold, clear nights and snow drifts

Singing fireside carols

Snowmen made with yarn mitts

Church bells Christmas rung

Filling the crisp night air

Sleigh bells and horses’ neighs

Children’s laughter and echoes pair

Around the Christmas tree

Lights of love glow brightly

As families love each other

Remembering the past

When others shared the day

I still believe in Christmas

The baby, wise men and joy

The wonder in little one’s eyes

The gift of life to girls and boys

After many years as a stage performer, Zona found she enjoyed writing. She studies at Paradise Valley Community College.  Her work has appeared in several anthologies at the school and elsewhere. In 2004, she won $20,000.00 for her poem, “Indiscriminate Sestina.”  She and her husband, Jack, are creating a Diet by Poetry Journal to help whittle away those pounds with a little rhyming fun. Last year in the Paradise Review her poem, “If He Had Hit Me”, won third place and her one act play, “A Shaggy Dog Story”, won second place.