Poet David Kresh wrote "December" for my sister and I after our father's sudden passing on Thanksgiving morning of 2003. At the time, I was four years old and she was one. I did not know that this poem existed until recently when my mother told me about it. The poem explores the complexity of emotions that my sister and I felt during the month following our father's death. 

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The alto soloist's a capella entrance and haunting melody reflect a child's simple yet raw emotions, and the harmonic build throughout the piece echoes the buildup of emotions leading to the climax at measure 43. The subsequent section mimics the opening melody, yet in a major setting, evoking a sense of potential healing in the years to come. The piece, however, ends in an emotionally confused state, unsure of where a person goes after they die and how one might cope and proceed with a normal childhood.