When Mary birthed her baby boy,
God's creatures came from all around
to share this mother's boundless joy
and feel the peace our world had found.
A stork arrived with naught to give
when Mary birthed her baby boy,
and prayed sweet Jesus would forgive
his lack of gold or silver toy.
But then his heart filled up with joy
as if a calm had stilled a storm --
when Mary birthed her baby boy,
she had no blankets soft and warm.
He plucked his feathers from his breast,
no thought of what he must destroy,
to line the bed of infant blest,
when Mary birthed her baby boy.
When Mary birthed her baby boy,
God's creatures came from round the Earth,
but he who gave himself with joy
had brought the gift of greatest worth.
|
Author Notes
Storks have been considered lucky for centuries - to see one on a chimney or to see one fly over is considered a sign of good fortune. One also often associates them with the delivery of newborn babies. One of the legends of the stork revolves around Christmas, when the stork is supposed to have visited the manger and plucked his own breast of feathers to supply soft bedding for the newborn child, despite the terrible pain he must have endured. I have not made up the legend, just the poem, which is a quatern followed by an extra verse.
|
|
