�T was the night before Christmas, and I was alone
Wondering if Saint Nick would visit my home
Out into the darkness I constantly stared
Rolling my eyes in disbelieving glare
Outside the snow was rapidly falling
The wind would whistle a hypnotic calling
My eyes grew heavy, and I rested my head
When all of a sudden appeared a man dressed in red
A tapping on the window made me wake in a hurry
Rubbing my eyes, my vision still blurry
Hello my young friend, is what Santa had said
It�s late at night, why aren�t you in bed
My vision now clear I invited him in
He picked up his sack, and to my door he went
Once inside he shook off the cold
And mumbled something about being too old
He sat on the couch, right next to my chair
His cheeks were all rosy; it was cold out there
I offered him some milk and a cookie or two
He grabbed a handful, and an extra few
With crumbs in his beard and milk on his lips
He began to tell me about his long winter trip
The time went by, we chatted a while
Some of his stories even made me smile
Before I knew it was time to go
He had a promise to keep to all the children ya know
He reached in his sack and pulled out a gift
When he handed it to me, my spirits did lift
Then a sad expression appeared on my face
The gift in that box would never replace
The losses I have suffered, or the pain I�ve gone through
Or the voices of my children, saying �Daddy we love you�
I gave back the gift and thanked him so much
But Christmas without my children is really to rough
Santa handed it back, and gave a warm smile
�Keep this my child, it�ll be worth your while�
�For I�ve heard all your cries and wishes to me�
�I�ve found you a gift that�s special indeed�
�So open it now, please, if you don�t mind�
�I�ve got to get going, there isn�t much time�
So I opened the gift that Santa had gave
Rubbing my eyes I was completely amazed
Inside this box not much bigger than my shoe
Was the answer to my prayers and my dream come true
And what was in that box, do you read and ponder
A little bit of magic and heavenly wonder
It made me feel warm all over as I got up to stand
For inside that box was Jesus� hand
As I stood at my door on my on power
Another miracle nearly made me cower
Three shadowy figures emerged from the snow
It was the people in this world that I love so
My beautiful wife Kimberly
And my children Chris and Emilee
The reasons I live, and the reasons I breathe
And continue to hope on this coming Christmas Eve
With a grin on my face stretching ear to ear
Santa mounted his sleigh and called to his deer
�On Blitzen, on Comet, on Rudolph take flight�
�Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night�
-Dave Shafto
December 2002