Poems (Elliott)/A Christmas Thought
A Christmas Thought
Away and under beaming Eastern skies,
A slumbering Infant in a manger lies,
And tender Mother Mary, sweet and fair,
Is bending o'er Him, rapt in fervent prayer,
Through her sweet spirit, out of sinlessness,
God sent His great good Gift mankind to bless.
From out the depths of those mild maiden-eyes
Do visions of the tragic future rise?
Does she the cruel suffering foresee—
The shadow of the cross on Calvary?
A slumbering Infant in a manger lies,
And tender Mother Mary, sweet and fair,
Is bending o'er Him, rapt in fervent prayer,
Through her sweet spirit, out of sinlessness,
God sent His great good Gift mankind to bless.
From out the depths of those mild maiden-eyes
Do visions of the tragic future rise?
Does she the cruel suffering foresee—
The shadow of the cross on Calvary?
***
The wise men, led by gleaming Eastern Star,
In silence of the night come from afar,
The little new-born Saviour here to greet—
To worship Him and lay at His dear feet
Their gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh
While bending low in reverence to her
Who bore Him. Thus the Christmas joy began
Of giving gifts—as God's great Gift to man
Come through the love divine, from Him above
The gift is given of tender human love.
In silence of the night come from afar,
The little new-born Saviour here to greet—
To worship Him and lay at His dear feet
Their gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh
While bending low in reverence to her
Who bore Him. Thus the Christmas joy began
Of giving gifts—as God's great Gift to man
Come through the love divine, from Him above
The gift is given of tender human love.