Star over Bethlehem - Agatha Christie [28]
Other Poems
Spring
A CHILD has passed through the woods today,
Hush! You shall find him there at play!
See—snowdrops scattered in the glade,
And nestling close in childlike grace,
The crocus lifts his chubby face,
Serene and unafraid!
And out on the downs
In their straight green gowns
The daffodils wait … Whilst hidden quite
The shy blue violets in delight
Peer forth to tempt his careless hand …
And the Child who passes by today goes laughing through the land!
A Child has passed through the city street,
Follow the track of his little feet …
Golden-hued baskets on the curb,
A lifted head and a brightened eye
As the busy worker passes by
And the flowers his thoughts disturb …
A sudden stir
In the wintry air!
A tired heart that knows a gleam
Of strange sweet joy … A transient dream
Of all the things that might have been …
And a Child who passes through the street—who passes all unseen …
Stay, Child! What is thy name?
Whence art thou come? Who gave thee birth?
My Mother, the Earth
Bore me in joy!
She, the All Wise
Fashioned my limbs
In this fair guise
Without alloy.
Who is thy Father?
The Breath of a Flame!
In the Future is written the Might of his Name …
Offspring am I of the Seen and Unseen,
Of that which shall come, and of that which hath been!
Wisdom of Ages—and Promise of Dawn,
Calling to life all the life yet unborn,
Lo! in the CHILD is the Hope of the Earth!
So shall I pass—bringing Spring and Rebirth!
Young Morning
NIGHT gave me birth, and to my fashioning went
Fear and Unrest, Hate that will not relent,
Pain, and a Joy too keen to face the light,
Passion, Desire, and Mystery of Night …
A wreath of stars is set upon my brow,
And, twining round my feet, pale lilies grow,
My body has the beauty of the Moon,
Its slender whiteness girt with holy rune.
My heart is full of doubts that softly wake,
Longings not understood—the strange sweet ache
Of unfulfilled desire … Dreamful of Fate,
Veiled in my nightblack hair, I stand and wait!
This is my hour!
Eternity itself halts on its ceaseless round,
And all the world halts with it for a little spell,
And in the quivering stillness comes the sound
Of all the secret music that I love so well:
The sighs of lovers, and the haunting cry
Of tawny beasts, and the awakening call
Of drowsy baby birds in nests so high …
My outspread arms rule over all!
This is my hour!
The stars around my head have paled away,
The lily buds are opening gold and gay,
From out the slumbering hills there cometh One
Most glorious without—within—the Sun!
About my limbs the purple mists unfold,
Upon my head—a Crown of Blood and Gold!
And I am wrapped in rich and varied hue,
Crimson and rose, and faintest starry blue …
What is this strange new anguish in my heart?
See—where the mists of morning slowly part
My Lover comes! His banners bravely borne
And greets me in the burning Kiss of Dawn!
Give me my hour within my Lover’s arms!
Vanished the doubts, the fears, the sweet alarms!
I lose myself within his quickening Breath …
And when he tires and leaves me—there is Death …
Hymn to Ra
From the West we came,
To the West we shall return!
Ra! Giver of all! Listen and hear!
Hark to Thy People’s Oath! Thus do we swear!
We will return to the West
There, to the Land of the Blest,
There whence we came …
From the West we came,
To the West we shall return!
Ra! Light of the World! Keep our Faith pure!
We are the chosen Race! We shall endure!
Slaves are the Black and the White!
Great are the Red in Thy sight!
Lords of the World!
From the West we came,
To the West we shall return!
Ra! Red is Thy Light! Mighty Thy Heat!
Thou shalt set every nation