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1.
If every birth is a special event
Then this one states it: if by every birth
The simple mutual display of mother
And child is commemorated, then this one
Brings it home: yet here it seems a crash down
Of an infinitely gentle non sequitur
In human affairs: its appearance the power
Revealed of God's presence that is within
Us, that manifests the area of His interest,
Intensely human; that makes bold to bring
About this pageant, as something most blessed:
The privilege of the Christ-child is about being
Born, and ours, too, ourselves, by same election;
But the glow of light that's His on us impressed.
2.
It is a traditional set piece, one
That for this reason brings into relief
The essence of the unchanging: belief
Is anchored here, assembled, finely spun
As the linen of each un-trendy gown,
The white and blue of Mary, and of Joseph,
Shades of brown; texture and tints grown stiff
With centuries, as the general gaze down,
Down to the cradle that upholds the babe
Of alabaster; it's no wonder that
Belief seems brittle; but the homage paid,
Year in, year out, proves that there's more than what
Meets the eye; simple figures custom made
Express the limit, sustain the plot. |
