Christmas Eve 1999

The last few days of the past century

Winding down the nineties

The very first of a special year

We all call the Great Jubilee

Once a thousand years' event

A milestone, on that night, began

When we were little children

Though I was almost adolescent

The air was filled with cheerful music

As I recall those days so nostalgic

Even then, even now, I always remember

How special those holidays were

The joys of that pleasant night

The Christmas Eve of nineteen ninety nine

Always makes me breathe a long, long sigh

For one thing remains the only sign

Of my childhood's joys and happinesses

Of my naivete and innocences

Of the world's absolute pureness

As I perceived through all my senses

The feelings I still have

Forever kept in my head

In my heart, in my very core

Mem'ries that'll never be torn

Were the holiday nights

Of December Nineteen Ninety Nine

When I turn the knob of a figurine

That plays Silent, Silent Night

The music that gave me bliss

Is now gone except the memories

Of my childhood days and their ease

And that bygone era's zeitgist!

It was the last remaining sign

Of my childhood that peaked that night

For all our toys would soon be lost

And this is the last within our sight

I would always retell

With so much fondness

My childhood's happiness

Even the laughs of Mama Tess

Those holidays I remember

The revel bars we devoured

The ice-cold iced tea

Our sister's angel hair spaghetti

The delightful lasagna

Fresh from the oven of Tita Irma

The heavenly maja blanca

And so many other foods and pasta

The days we played Super Mario

And other games from Nintendo

I don't remember the gifts anymore

But the memories I'll cherish evermore

All our toys are lost forever

But this figurine of Mama Mary

And the Child Jesus

Remains however

As the very last remnant

Of our childhood long gone 

Swept along with the last century

That ended with the Great Jubilee

I write this piece of poetry

Looking down the sacred figurine

Of Child Jesus and Mama Mary

Against the backdrop of yuletide melody

I guess it will all be

A silly memory

That maybe I could only

Share with Jesus and Mother Mary

But as I go along my life

I am satisfied despite

The many, many sighs

For my childhood has been happy and sublime...

And so I thank my family

My parents especially

My friends and siblings

My uncles, aunts, and cousins

For the childhood that has been sublime

Which culminated on that special night

Of Christmas Eve Nineteen Ninety Nine

That I'll fondly remember all my life...