Monday, December 21, 2009

Cold Advent

Here's a repost of an Advent poem I wrote last year...


It was sufficient for us


To be the seekers.


A new stellar sign


Was all we needed


To spur our pilgrimage


Through barren wildness,


Blistering winds, stinging nights,


With only our parchments


And our intellect


To bolster our certainty.


We did not need


The heavens to burst open,


Like those simple shepherds


Who, half-asleep on the job,


Wiped the sand from their eyes


And found the glory of God


Ripping open the sky.


Who had angels’ wings


And harps of gold


And Be Not Afraids


And Good Tidings of Great Joy


And all the style and spectacle


Of heavenly holiness


In one giant pageant.


Of course they got up


And did as they were told.


But for months all we had


Was a pinhole in the sky,


A nick, a puncture


In the darkness.


And when we reached the Babe


In that tomblike stable


It was enough to see Him


To know we were right.


We left with our dignity in tact,


Requiring no reward,


No unearthly visions


Of celestial upheaval


To inspire us


Or cling to


Long after


When the sky was resealed


As tight as a drum.

2 comments:

  1. I love this. Especially

    But for months all we had
    Was a pinhole in the sky,
    A nick, a puncture
    In the darkness

    and then the ending. Wow.

    ReplyDelete