A poem for Christmas and Epiphany
This night we steer our paths
By lights in holy skies.
Like eyes of old, we stare
Aloft at certain stars.
Pressed hard by cruel tones
And ugly, unseemly times,
We linger at a star of beauty,
A gleaming, affirming fire.
To homes and naves we go
With children and candles close.
With words of memory
we climb celestial stairs.
To face the dulling days,
The cynics’ rusing ploy,
We opt for a star of wonder,
A hope-filled flaming joy.
Instead of gazing blandly
Into all the wild blue yonders,
We see a mystery plain,
The mystique of birth again.
Rejecting unkempt ungoing,
We choose a timeless blaze,
A daring star of longing,
Amidst the desires of all the days.
Declining torpor’s apathy,
We hanker, yearn, and ache
To welcome tender mercy’s light,
A love come home for grace’s sake.