Missing the Holidays by Liz Russo

Saying Christmas is my favorite holiday is a bit of an understatement - it is my favorite time of the year. I know it must seem crazy to be thinking about Christmas because it will be June tomorrow, but for some reason it is all I am thinking about. Maybe this quarantine has got me in a funk, but I am in the holiday spirit. My family thinks I am insane because I have been singing "Deck the Halls" around the house, but I decided to put my Christmas mood to good use by writing a poem about it.
To be completely honest, at first I didn't like the free verse poem assignment because the fact that it could have any structure made it harder. However, when I stopped overthinking, I was coming up with poems left and right and was enjoying writing them. I was feeling nostalgic and wrote this free verse poem about Christmas day as a little kid:

The smell of warm ham fills the kitchen.
A little girl tip-toes down the stairs to see
how good she's been this year.
The floor sends chills to her feet.

A pine wreath hangs on the red wine front door
and white fluff hides the grass.
The frost from Jack glares in the sun.
Charm trims the tree and the star
gleams bright, while the toy train
runs around the glow of her wide, young eyes.

Her heart beats to the yule tune when
she sees the gifts with bows line the tree.
The elves worked hard all year
and sweet treats and milk gone,
not a crumb left on the plate.

Mom leans on the stove with Gram
as they prep the roast and stir the sauce.
Dad walks to the couch with a video camera.
"Look at what Santa brought me!"
A new sled on the perfect day to ride.