I Remember

I awake on a chilly Christmas morning
Watch the choirs singing carols on TV
I gaze out through my window at a dozen other windows
Then I plug in my artificial tree

And like a dream, I begin to remember
Every Christmas I used to know
A thousand miles away
A milion years ago

I remember sky
It was blue as ink
Or at least I think
I remember sky

I remember snow
Soft as feathers, sharp as thumb tacks
Coming down like lint
And it made you squint
When the wind would blow

And ice like vinyl on the streets
Cold as silver, white as sheets
Rain like strings and changing things
Like leaves

I remember leaves
Green as spearmint
Crisp as paper
I remember trees
Bare as coat racks
Spread like broken umbrellas

And parks and bridges, ponds and zoos
Ruddy faces, muddy shoes
Light and noise and bees and boys
And days

Oh, I remember days
Or at least I try
But as years go by
They're a sort of haze

And the bluest ink
Isn't really sky
And at times I think
I would gladly die
For a day of sky