Mary

The steady plod of donkey feet
triggers bone-deep pain
foreshadowing a tearing anguish
to come;
In the stillness between hollow hoof-clops

She ponders growing fear.

Endless hours later
her lifeblood fresh on a stable floor,
a tiny, cooing thing
stares through newborn eyes
at the pattern of her face;

she ponders new Being.

Strangers appear from the monotonous nowhere of humble labor—
impelled by terror through the night,
shy witness to the mystery unfolding before them;

she ponders the strangeness of family.

Exhausted, her weary
eyes drift into the black
night sky
where one star, brighter than the rest,
captures her gaze a moment too long.

Sudden Light pierces her soul;
with shattering, shuddering clarity
she knows, beyond knowing, an awe-filled future …
tears spill, hot and unbidden,
mingling underfoot with straw and blood.

For years to come

she will ponder all these things in her heart.

……………………………….

A blessed Christmas to all