Poems (Rossetti, 1901)/A Christmas Carol

by Christina Georgina Rossetti

DEVOTIONAL PIECES

A CHRISTMAS CAROL.

IN the bleak mid-winter
 Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
 Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
 Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
 Long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him,
 Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
 When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
 A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty
 Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him whom cherubim
 Worship night and day,
A breastful of milk
 And a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him whom angels
 Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
 Which adore.

Angels and archangels
 May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
 Throng'd the air.
But only His mother
 In her maiden bliss
Worshipped the Beloved
 With a kiss.

What can I give Him,
 Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
 I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
 I would do my part,—
Yet what I can I give Him,
 Give my heart.