We put up lights
to welcome you home,
well knowing that
you must have home in you
to feel at home

You may bring it with you
or leave it behind,
or you could come searching for it —
for all those possibilities,
we summon light,
we celebrate you in our hearts,
we play the music,
prepare your place,
we tend the glow
that makes us home.

©Wendy Mulhern
December 16, 2015