CHRISTMAS CAROL
LAY quietly Thy kingly head
O mighty weakness from on high;
God rest Thee in Thy manger-bed—
Sing Lullo-lullo-lullaby—
O Splendour hid from every eye!—
La-lullo-lullo-lullaby!
“Ye mild and humble cattle, yield
Room for my little son to lie;
Your God and mine is here revealed—
Sing Lullo-lullo-lullaby—
Naked beneath a naked sky—
La-lullo-lullo-lullaby!
“Deal kindly with Him, moon and sun;
No bird to Him a song deny;
Ye winds and showers every one
Sing Lullo-lullo-lullaby—
For men shall cast Him out to die ...
La-lullo-lullo-lullaby!”
A GARDEN ENCLOSED
THERE is a plot where all the winds are still,
A hidden garden where no voice is heard,
Only a splashing fountain and the shrill
Sweet clamour of a bird.
The poplars guard like tall, grave sentinels
Its peace inviolate; and in the tower
With careful ritual ring out the bells
The end of each dead hour.
Laburnums, hollyhocks and roses run
By secret paths—but who shall burst the bars?
Oh, who shall see—except the curious sun
And all the peering stars?...
And Thou and Thou, my Love, for whom I keep
My heart a watered garden, all Thine own,
Where flowers my guardian angel tends in sleep,
Bright summer blooms, are grown!