6 Stanzas for the Season

red star beside nebula - digital painting by Mark R. Turner 2018
“Red Star for Christmas,” Digital painting by Mark R. Turner of a star near the Nebula NGC 3603, about 20,000 light years away. Art available for cards, walls, apparel, and home decor at http://bit.ly/ArtbyMark .

If you want Christmas to be more than an expensive and exhausting shopping-decorating-partying-cooking marathon ending with just one evening and a day, I invite you to join me in these six stanzas. Contemplate with me some of the profound claims that have given rise to our celebration.

The Absolute came down
And mingled in the fading,
Walked among blooms
Which glory in the morning,
By midday burn away.

The Before all,
Entered shifting air and breathed it,
Wore out clothes,
Laid loved ones to rest.

One from whom all things flowed
Hungered and thirst,
Sat to rest his weary limbs
Limited by our unbelief.

The Father in whom are all names
Made himself anonymous,
Clinging to the teenage mother
Running from exterminators;

Who authored authority
Stood in court, a victim
Of technicalities maneuvered by experts
Weaving a case to rid us of change.

The Breathless sounded like wind,
Breathed through us fire-words
Of uncontained flight deep
Into our Ground of Being.

Mark R. Turner

Advent starts December 2, Christmas Day is the first of twelve days and that is just the beginning.

2 Responses

    • markart

      Thanks, Sylvia. You and Wayne be blessed celebrating the Great Birth!