Night of Song and Silence

The night is still, yet angels sing.

The sky is dark, yet starlight flings

Itself upon the sleep of kings

While shepherds hear what tidings heralds bring.

 

The air is chill, yet they are warm

As unbound love takes human form,

Yet few can see the shifting norm

Of who brings peace to calm the raging storm.

 

This night of contradictions stays

Through ages long in which we stray,

Reminding us, when fabrics fray,

That wholeness comes in unexpected ways.

 

The world’s greatest offering

May wait within the margins’ deepest haze.

 

This year's Christmas poem felt more appropriate for Christmas Eve than Christmas Day. I think one of the things I like most about the Christmas story, and really the whole story of Jesus' life, is how it turns the concept of power on its head. People and places that seem to be small and insignificant (according to certain standards) become central to the story. It suggests to me that a great power to make the world better can be found in all of us, regardless of who or where we are - and it's a power that is much more wholesome (and perhaps, holy) than what we conventionally think of as power.

Warmth from Words Within

When the air is cold

And the wind comes rushing in,

The fire goes out

And the light is growing thin,

But the flame you hold within

Is ever bright.

It burns without

Extinguishing tonight.

Every tale you’re told to write

Feels uninspired,

But the words that spring from you

Are more desired.

 

This poem is about the wisdom and warmth we hold within ourselves. It felt appropriate for this time of year, as temperatures in many places are dropping.

The Dark but Starlit Heavens

I find myself upon a seat

That flies above the spinning sea

At thirty thousand feet,

A little world, enclosed but free

From all the surface conflict stirring

Beneath what I can see,

The broken lines between us blurring

As we together brush the sky,

Our common hopes enduring

To land once more where shores are dry

With safety and stability,

But still the ground will cry

For greater hymns of harmony.

Might we prefigure what we need

When in the clouds’ tranquility

We set aside our greed

To glimpse the dark but starlit heavens

That shine on one humanity?

I just got back to the US for some December vacation – had some hectic airport experiences, but the flights themselves were nice. Flying often makes me think about the connections between places and people, and this poem gets at that idea.