GRIEF AND JOY
Grief said there was no gladness
At the season of the Child,
But only memories of sadness
In homes where babes once smiled.
Joy said there was no sorrow,
But found solace in the touch
Of gladness that perhaps to-morrow
Would need our cheer as much.
Grief said that songs awaken
Echoes of our buried love,
As when silent chords are shaken
And still responsive prove.
Joy said it yet were stranger
If our babes made Bethlehem
Not more dear because the manger
Bore Him who gathered them.
Grief said that gifts but mocked us
With the treasures snatched away
And with chains forever locked us
In tombs of memory.
Joy said that gifts were token
Of our love and its domain,
Earnest of our hopes unspoken
Love would get again.