Noel
“We hear and sing / The customary carols” /
When snow is shaken
From the balsam trees
And they’re cut down
And brought into our houses
When clustered sparks
Of many-colored fire
Appear at night
In ordinary windows
We hear and sing
The customary carols
They bring us ragged miracles
And hay and candles
And flowering weeds of poetry
That are loved all the more
Because they are so common
But there are carols
That carry phrases
Of the haunting music
Of the other world
A music wild and dangerous
As a prophet’s message
Or the fresh truth of children
Who though they come to us
From our own bodies
Are altogether new
With their small limbs
And birdlike voices
They look at us
With their clear eyes
And ask the piercing questions
God alone can answer.
From Living Things: Collected Poems, by Anne Porter. Reprinted with permission from Steerforth Press.
Also in this Issue
Issue 38 / December 24, 2015- Editor's Note from December 24, 2015
Issue 38: Virgin births in the animal kingdom, a modern Wise Man’s journey, and the womanhood of creation. /
- Virgin Births Happen All the Time
Birds do it. Bees do it. Snakes, sharks, lizards, and lots of other animals do it solo too. /
- Staring at the Suns
What I’ve learned as an amateur astronomer. /
- Why Mary Is So Blessed
An Orthodox theologian describes how the Mother of God is what all creation was created to be. /
- Wonder on the Web
Issue 38: Links to amazing stuff.