A Jew Greets Christmas

I’m taking the day off. A 
Little extra rest.  No calls, 
No mail, no obligations. 

It isn’t my holiday, but
I’ll take the day break,
A respite from routine. 

It’s peaceful when I 
Wake early, streets 
Empty, the morning

Fresh.  I welcome
My neighbors joyous
Celebrations, and, at

A  religious distance,
Hum along with the
Well-known tunes.

Not my tunes, some
Cheerful and others
Sentimental, some with quite the beat,

I grateful for this
Place and time
When tunes that years

Ago would have been
A distress to hear, 
Perhaps threaded

With a frisson of fear,
Now with some peace
In this place and time
These tunes I enjoy. 

It is their holiday,
Which, with the grace of 
Gratitude, I can,
At some remove, enjoy
Their joy.

To those who celebrate:
God bless you;
And to us who don’t:
God bless us too.