THE FIRST CHRISTMAS - THE SHEPHERDS' STORY

Near Bethlehem
On a clear, crisp night
A band of poor shepherds
Were afeard at the sight
Of an angel coalescing
Midst a nimbus of light,
Swiftly he calmed them
And cleansed them of fright.

The angel then said
How the world should know
Of a boy child born
In a stable low
To Bethlehem
He bade them go,
The stable they found
'Neath a new star's glow.

As moonlight washed
Through the open door
It pushed back the darkness
And straightway they saw
A man and a woman
Sat close on the floor,
And a babe newly born
On a blanket of straw.

Into his presence
They humbly filed
Kneeling as one
They gave praise to the child
He looked up and saw them
And softly he smiled
Akin to his mother,
Both blessed and mild.

Upon the morning
Twelve days hence
Guided by
That star intense
Three kings would come,
Gifts to dispense
Of gold, of myrrh,
Of frankincense.

Such is the tale
Of that first Christmas eve
I don't think it matters
If we disbelieve,
Its legacy can
For a brief time relieve
The woes of a world
We too clearly perceive.

The angel had said
How the world should know
Of a boy child born
In a stable low
Thus said the angel,
Thus it was so,
Thus we remember
That night long ago.

COPYRIGHT D M PAMMENT 2009