First Sunday of Christmas
For the first Sunday of Christmas, I share two poems written from the point of view common people who viewed the holy family. The normally satirical Dorothy Parker is unexpectedly tender as she imagines herself as the maid-servant at the inn. The light she sees that reminds her of the nativity star 30 years before is presumably connected with the resurrection. As to whether “all is well with them”? Well, it wasn’t but then it was.
The Maid-Servant at the Inn
“It’s queer,” she said; “I see the light
As plain as I beheld it then,
All silver-like and calm and bright–
We’ve not had stars like that again!
“And she was such a gentle thing
To birth a baby in the cold.
The barn was dark and frightening–
This new one’s better than the old.
“I mind my eyes were full of tears,
For I was young, and quick distressed,
But she was less than me in years
That held a son against her breast.
“I never saw a sweeter child-
The little one, the darling one!-
I mind I told her, when he smiled
You’d know he was his mother’s son.
“It’s queer that I should see them so—
The time they came to Bethlehem
Was more than thirty years ago;
I’ve prayed that all is well with them.”
The second poem, by Scott Bates, takes the vantage point of a soldier who refuses Harad’s order to carry out the massacre of the innocents. Like the innkeeper’s daughter, he wonders later about the family he encountered:
Witness
When it came down from HQ
The order to shoot the kids
We were stunned I mean really rocked
And I remember saying
Jesus we can’t do that and some of us
Felt like walking out but you don’t do that
In the army you don’t quit without a court-martial
So that was it we had to do it
And a lot of us did and it got very messy
And not pretty at all but we had to follow orders
You got to have discipline or you can’t do anything
Except me I couldn’t bring myself to do it
I couldn’t explain it I knew I was disobeying orders
Maybe it was because I have three kids myself and one
Of them is under two so when I found these poor people
Hiding in a barn with a new baby I couldn’t do it
I sure as hell couldn’t do it
I told them to cool it hit the road take off
For Egypt or somewhere and fast and not go back for anything
I took off pretty fast myself because the rest of the patrol
Was coming back and I would have got it for insubordination
And no questions asked bothers I would have had it
I mean for good
But I’m not sorry
I’m not sorry at all
He was a cute kid
I hope they made it