"Empty Christmas Box"

I found a box one Christmas beneath the tinseled tree
on it was a note that read, "inside a gift for thee"
I opened up the box, excited like a child
and discovered it was empty, erasing all my smile.
I didn't notice the wish that lay there inside
so intent I was on receiving a gift with arms wide,
maybe silver, maybe gold, maybe sparkling shine,
all I could think of was how the gift was mine.

But when there wasn't any gift my eye could see
I took that little box and set it back under the tree;
Disappointed I admit over what seemed an empty box,
and the wish lay still inside the package I forgot.
All through the long day as presents were received,
others opened their gifts, everyone but me;
faces were all aglow and smiles were everywhere,
But I all alone felt that for me no one cared.

"Why does everyone else get nice gifts anew
while I get a box of nothing wrapped in ribbons blue?"
and then a girl I knew sat down and said to me,
"Did you get the gift that I sent to thee?"
I thought for a moment and soon shook my head,
"no, but someone sent me an empty box instead".
She just smiled the way girls sometimes do
and I thought there must be something only she knew.

"I sent you that box", she quietly confessed,
"but it wasn't empty as you blindly guess,
instead it was full of quiet Christmas dreams,
sweet memories to come, and songs yet to sing;
for inside that box I put my most sincerest wish,
that on this night my lips would feel your kiss;
and I wrapped it up nicely in my ribbons blue,
hoping you’d see just how much I love you."

Then she stood up, her smile now quite sad,
"My Christmas gift given to you is all that I had";
I watched her silent as she slowly walked away,
for I was too stunned, I didn't know what to say;
I went back to the tree and retreived the empty box,
just as the bell chimed from the old church clock;
I opened the Christmas box again to take a closer look,
and I saw it all so clearly, like it was an open book.

The empty box was just like our empty lives alone
waiting for someone to fill it and make love a home;
a wish could change emptiness to something true,
when joined by another wish feeling that way, too.
So with the box now in hand I ran to her quickly
and I said to her, "I must return this gift to thee
Your wish is still there, but now joined by my own,
and if you take it to your heart, you’ll never be alone."

She opened up the box and then she softly sighed,
seeing our wishes together brought a tear to the eye,
She said, "I can't think of no better Christmas than this",
and standing close under mistletoe we gently kissed.
So make a wish this Christmas and the holidays,
share it with someone you love in some special way,
and if on Christmas you receive an empty box, too
It could very well be a wish that's saying I love you...