Season Greetings from SoundEagle: Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Joyful Holiday

SoundEagle says: I would like to share the following poem with all followers and members of the Potted Plant Society.

I have a list of folks I know all written in a book,
And every year at Christmas time I go and take a look.
And that is when I realize that these names are of a part,
Not of the book in which they’re written, but of my very heart.

Each name denotes someone who has crossed my path sometime,
And in that meeting they’ve become the rhythm of the rhyme.
And while it sounds fantastic of 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 more than you can think.
For once you’ve met somebody, those years they can’t erase,
The memories of a pleasant word or of a friendly face.

So never think that my Christmas greeting is just a mere routine,
Of names upon a Christmas list forgotten in between.
For when I send a Christmas greeting that is addressed to you,
It’s because you’re on that list of folks whom I am indebted to.

For I’m but a total of the many ones I’ve met,
And you happen to be one of those I prefer not to forget.
And whether I’ve known you for many years or few,
In some way you had a part in shaping things I do.

So every year when Christmas comes, I realize anew,
The biggest gift that life can give is meeting someone like you.
And may the spirit of Christmas that forever and ever endures,
Leave its richest blessings in the heart of you and yours.

Author is unknown or contested, and many variations and adaptations exist.