Christmas Scene
So what is different
The vagrant limps across the careening snow
Scantily unkempt
From inside the bank with glittering glass
I watched him pass
Carried by the flow
Of that dilapidated mass
For whom tolls the jingling bell
And toll, and toll ignored again
My heart
Shunning the superficial cheer
Left all I heard
Devoted to a pilgrimage of eyes
Where the fire glows warm
And hope gathers moth-like
I see him push, and pushing through
Put out his arms to touch the tired flame
As though an angel had troubled it
Or perhaps a rudimentary manger
And Christ so far from it
While he sleeps secure on warm
On the bank floor
Under the beautiful Christmas tree.
I walked away
Full of grief and empty
While behind me toll, and toll again
The jingling bells of the Salvation Army.
O Mary, hail us not as Joseph in this despair
Nor magnify too much your feat
He too has swollen and blistered feet
And I volatile from the pilgrimage
Ask questions of my faith
Tell me, for all the change from manger to cross,
What is different now from then?
Post Comments
Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.
Please
Login
to post a comment