The mother smiles and rejoices
While the baby laughs in the hay;
She listens to heavenly voices:
“The child shall be king, one day.”
O dear little Christ in the manger,
Let me make merry with thee.
O King, in my hour of danger,
Wilt thou be strong for me?
Adapted from the Latin of Jacopone da Todi
by Sophie Jewett
From “The Poems of Sophie Jewett.” Included by permission of the Thomas Y. Crowell Company.
THE CHRISTMAS SILENCE
Hushed are the pigeons cooing low,
On dusty rafters of the loft;
And mild-eyed oxen, breathing soft,
Sleep on the fragrant hay below.
Dim shadows in the corner hide;
The glimmering lantern’s rays are shed
Where one young lamb just lifts his head,
Then huddles ’gainst his mother’s side.
Strange silence tingles in the air;
Through the half-open door a bar
Of light from one low hanging star
Touches a baby’s radiant hair—