Saturday, December 6, 2008

Frosty Wind Made Moan; Day 6 of Advent




I had the song In the Bleak Midwinter stuck in my head all day yesterday. I was still singing it this morning so I decided to look it up over a cup of coffee.

I was struck to note that the author, Christina Georgina Rossetti, wrote the lyrics in response to a magazine's call for Christmas poems. She was in her forties. I was also struck by the fact that December 5th, yesterday, was Rosetti's birthday.

Spooky, huh? Or maybe not. Perhaps Christina is just one of the many uncanonized Saints in heaven praying for me. Perhaps she was singing me her hymn yesterday as she saw me struggling to be patient with my tots, remembering the winter days she spent inside with hers. I'd like to think Christina was singing to me yesterday because she sure sounded sweet.


What can I give Him, poor as I am?

If I were a Shepherd, I would bring a lamb

If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part

Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

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