Friday, December 17, 2010

Poetry Friday: Thomas Merton


This is not an Advent but a Christmas poem, but it's too beautiful not to share and I shall probably be too busy to pop in next week, on Christmas Eve day, for Poetry Friday.  So today I offer you A Christmas Card from Thomas Merton. I especially love the lines I included below, but the whole poem is at The Mary Page (see the link to the poem below.)


from A Christmas Card
by Thomas Merton

...
Shall not this Child
(When we shall hear the bells of His amazing voice)
Conquer the winter of our hateful century?

And when His Lady Mother leans upon the crib,
Lo, with what rapiers
Those two loves fence and flame their brillancy!

Here in this straw lie planned the fires
That will melt all our sufferings:


....

(Read the whole poem here.)

The Poetry Friday round up is at The Poem Farm.

8 comments:

Amy L V said...

"And one by one kneel down and look upon their Life." Beautiful. Many good Christmas wishes to you this Poetry Friday and all week long... A.

Karen Edmisten said...

Oh, yes, that line, too, Amy. Really it's hard to find a bad line in this poem .... :)

Many good Christmas wishes to you, too!

Ruth said...

Beautiful! "Those two loves..." A mother for her baby, and God for the world.

tanita✿davis said...

WOW. That was many for the click of once. That was a lovely little jaunt through Merton's poetry. Thanks.

Beth said...

Thank you so much for this, Karen. New to me, and oh so beautiful to read during this season. Happy Christmas to you and yours!

I'm Jet . . . said...

This is new to me, too. Very beautiful. Thanks for sharing it.

Merry Christmas to you!

Pentimento said...

This poem sent chills up my spine. Thank you for posting it. Merry Christmas and much love to you and your family.

Karen Edmisten said...

Much love to you, too, Pentimento, and I hope you're having a wonderful Christmas week!