Christmas stockings
to be filled with children's toys
and candy canes
things calculated
to delight a child
but for me my newly
self-appointed sisters
chose a pair of socks
folded in gift paper
and tucked inside a box
with ribbon tied around
the shiny silver wrapping

They brought it to me
from beneath their artificial tree
aglow with strings of colored lights
not quite the same as I remember
when we'd bring in a living tree
and let the pungent scent of fir
fill all the house
with the fragrance of Christmas

These were no ordinary socks
they sported notes of music
set into a staff
with f sharp placed
where it belongs
on the top line
the whole effect
so whimsical it set us all
to laughing
and my feet to dancing
as if on their own
across the room

My wife took photos
we moved on
to opening other presents
sipping wine and munching
crackers with soft cheese
and sharing family stories
but the feeling of these socks
so smooth against my skin
and my feet in them moving
playfully around the room
delighting in their whimsical design
that is the Christmas gift
I most remember