Dr. M's Christmas Poem

 

It was Dr. M's turn to write the Christmas poem this year, and I have to say that he knocked it out of the ballpark. He is all of us, I think. He didn't try to wrap it up in a bow like I usually do (leaving my poems looking all awkward like they're wearing a smiling mask that doesn't fit). He just expressed our inner angst, which is frankly his spiritual gift. Without further ado - here is poem #32:

Days shorten…we fall back.
Night shadows grow long…we cower.
Is this the end? Will there be enough?
Enough sustenance, strength, time?
Will there be enough light? Hope?
                                          
Days shorten…we look inward.
Squirrels leap from oak to oak,
Leaves raining down as they move.
Like them, we nest, we forage.
We store for the lean times, the cold.
 
The longest night of the year comes.
We pray that our inner fire will,
With faith and love and each other,
Outlast the darkness and give birth
To a new light, a new life, a new hope.
 
We cry out in our despair, lamenting.
Tears fall hot and salty as light fades.
How long, oh Lord? How hard and cruel?
How will we survive the darkness?
We look to the heavens, longingly.
 
And so we wait, in cold, still silence
For Emmanuel…God with us…Advent!
We wait for Messiah, our savior,
Our last best hope. In faith we wait.
Listening for trumpets and angel voices!
 
In the darkness a child cries, afraid.
He will be a refugee, innocent, hunted,
Hated for his mere existence. He will
Keep company with the poor, the sick,
The reviled, and call them family.
 
Jesus wept and so must we, and mourn.
Families are torn asunder, plundered
Like so many temples. In a world where
Bombs, bullets, and hate reign supreme,
Can hope and light still be found?
 
Mike & Dana Rhyne
Christmas 2023