Christmas 1990

It is dark when I rise and dark when I stir the pot
But dear child, Thou art Light
And I can see.

It is cold when I dress, and cold when I stir the embers
But dear child, the gift of Thy heart is warm.

All through this season with its cold hard beauty
Through its dark hard night
You, Child, are the reason
That I am patient for the light.

For You chose hay as Your comfort
The breath of the beast
Your lullabye

Homeless You came, as You would go
Cradled in a wooden manger, Your beginning
Opened opon a wooden cross, Your end.

And all for love
For love that You came
And the heart that brake upon that tree
Now it lives, inside of me
A promise
Sacred trust
And though it is dark, and hard, and cold
I know Thou art for me
Light, and tender, and warm
Life that returns
Love that never ends