Things I Will Never Forget

In Indiana's embrace, my youth did unfold,

Amidst snow-covered fields and stories untold.

Christmas arrived with its pure, magic scent,

A time when innocence and wonderment were sent.

Underneath the evergreen's outstretched arms,

A Lionel train, a gift with countless charms,

I remember the tiny drops in its smokestack's grace,

As it puffed and chugged, circling its track's embrace.

Family gathered, their love a radiant glow,

Around the tree's luminous, soft, golden flow.

In the warmth of hearth and kin, we'd convene,

A sanctuary of love, within timeless scene.

And in the manger's humble, sacred embrace,

The birth of Jesus, the Savior of grace,

A reminder of the reason for this season's cheer,

A message of love, hope, and joy to hold dear.

These memories etched in the deepest of my core,

They live on, untouched by time's ever-changing lore.

In the recesses of my heart, they persist,

Like a treasure chest, in which my soul does subsist.

So, Indiana's winters, Christmases so bright,

The Lionel train's whistle in the quiet of the night,

The love of family, the Christ child's birth so profound,

Are things I will never forget, forever unbound.

Nostalgia washes over as I look back in time,

To all I took for granted, in my youthful prime.

Those moments now treasures, forever I'll hold,

A reminder to cherish the past, as I grow old