the child

garlands of light lining the streets
every window an invitation
to find a new present for giving
a new incentive for spending

a flurry of parcels and wrapping
of ribbons, rosettes, of artificial
pine, of the search to find
the perfect gift for those
who are impossible to buy for…

stepping back now, out of the shopping mall
into a different land and time
where love finds its touchstone
and he who sprinkled stars in the sky
sleeps under that sky tonight

a child, one child, the child
who holds the promise of all our futures
tightly in those tiny hands
the mystery of eternal, divine
in the depths of fragile humanity

angels punctuate the sky like tear drops
falling, tears of joy, that baby boy
the one they have come to proclaim
to those in the humdrum, the ordinary,
the miracle of the light of the world
born in the darkness of night

born for them, born for us
the King of kings and Light of lights
hope for all the world.