A Christmas poem

An old friend sent this poem on beautiful paper with holly leaves and berries on it as her Christmas card this year. I had never read it before but have since found it all over the internet, attributed to various authors. My friend had 'author unknown' so that's how I am posting it. It may not be a perfect piece of poetry, but I found the words very moving.

Christmas
Author Unknown

I have a list of folks I know, all written in a book

And every year at Christmas time I go and take a look.

And that is when I realize that these names are all a part,

Not of the book they're written in, but of my very heart.

For each name stands for someone who has crossed my path sometime

And in that meeting they've become a rhythm in a rhyme.

And while it sounds fantastic for me to make this claim,

I really feel that I'm composed of each remembered name.

And while you may not be aware of any special link

Just meeting you has changed my life a lot more than you think.

For once I've met somebody, the years cannot erase

The memory of a pleasant word or of a friendly face.

So never think my Christmas cards are just a mere routine

Of names on a Christmas list forgotten in between.

For when I send a Christmas card that is addressed to you,

It's because you're on the list of those I am indebted to.

For I am the total of the many folks I have met

And you are one of those I prefer not to forget.

And whether I have known you for many years, or for few

In some way you have had a part in shaping things I do

And every year when Christmas comes, I realize anew.