He and Mary walked together
(now having so much to say to each other)
Arriving in the town of Bethlehem
she having reached full term
they found: no accomodations
no vacancy, no lodging
no place to lay down and give birth
except a dark stinking barn
with a filthy feeding trough
They were revolted at the thought--
this didn’t fit the lofty script
that the angel had spelled out
The High Prince that Mary carried
could not be delivered in a dark corner
of a smelly shed where the livestock lay
They stopped, took it in, and then they breathed
and in their shaky way, believed
Since there be no other way
Here we are for God, said they
Let it be
Let it be
That same evening
(though they were hard to see)
there were sheepkeepers out there in the field
night watchmen for the flocks
Their hearts were nearly stopped
by a visit from the angel messenger
brighter than noon in the darkest of night
blinded were they by the brilliance of God
Don’t.. be.. afraid--
No fear, said the envoy to the sheepkeepers
Drop everything
go into town
search the stables
and you will find the sign--
a baby
in a feeding trough
Then there rose up
splitting open the night
angel upon angel upon angel
in waves across the sky
like the Northern Lights
only infinitely brighter
a song far deeper than any human choir
ascending into heaven
and leaving them behind
They fell over themselves
running hard into the town
pounding pavement
throwing open barn doors
heaving open wooden gates
until they found
the man Joseph
his fiancé Mary
and then
they saw
wrapped up in rags
the One
who was given His name
long, long before any of them were born:
Immanuel:
God
With
Us
--
No comments:
Post a Comment