A Christmas Poem

This is the poem I read in our "Lessons In Carols" service at Arlington Street Church this morning:

  One of the oxen said
"I know him, he is me - a beast
  Of burden, used, abused,
  Excluded from the feast -
  A toiler, one by whom
  No task will be refused:
I wish him strength, I give him room"

  One of the shepherds said
"I know him, he is me - a man
  Who wakes when others sleep,
  Whose watchful eyes will scan
  The drifted snow at night
  Alert for the lost sheep:
I give this lamb, I wish him sight."

  One of the wise men said
"I know him, he is me - a king
  On wisdom's pilgrimage,
  One Plato claimed would bring
  The world back to its old
  Unclouded golden age:
I wish him truth, I give him gold."

  Mary his mother said
"I know his heart's need, it is mine -
  The chosen child who lives
  Lost in his Lord's design,
  The self and symbol of
  The selfless life he gives:
I give him life, I wish him love."

~Dick Davis
Written for the 1982 Carol Service of Nene College, Northampton

Comments

[juno]

That's lovely. Some of the carols are beautiful songs; that poems catches the wonder and humanity - that contrast between what can be given and what can only be hoped for.

[leica]

I just happened to stumble over your entry. Thank you for posting this Christmas carol/poem. It is a very lovely one. The Christ can be approached on so many different levels and - by everyone!

leica