A writer recalls the holidays during WWII, when times were lean but simple traditions and handmade gifts made for a perfect season.
by Marsha White Warren | illustration by Sean Kernick

Marsha White Warren is former director of the Paul Green Foundation and NC Writers’ Network, as well as a recipient of the John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities. She’s also been inducted into the NC Literary Hall of Fame and received the NC Award for Literature in 2023. “I was inspired to write this poem as it reflects my childhood — I’m 87 now.  We were from a modest-means home, but we managed. My aunt Virginia was an accomplished artist who wanted to make our Christmas special, so each year she would make her wonderful dolls. I’ve kept them all these years.”

Sean Kernick, originally from the Northeast, now lives in Raleigh and is known for his bold thought provoking public murals of bright colors and whimsical scenes on the facades of hotels, retail complexes and local greenways.

This poem originally appeared in the December 2025 issue of WALTER magazine.