Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM, by CONDE BENOIST PALLEN


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: O cruel manger, how bleak, how bleak!
Last Line: Break, o heart, for thy god!
Subject(s): Bethlehem, Palestine; Jesus Christ - Childhood & Youth; Mothers & Sons; Worship


O cruel manger, how bleak, how bleak!
For the limbs of the babe, my God;
Soft little limbs on the cold, cold straw;
Weep, O eyes, for thy God!

Bitter ye winds in the frosty night
Upon the Babe, my God,
Piercing the torn and broken thatch;
Lament, O heart, for thy God!

Bare is the floor, how bare, how bare
For the Babe's sweet mother, my God;
Only a stable for mother and Babe;
How cruel thy world, my God!

Cast out, cast out, by his brother men
Unknown the Babe, my God;
The ox and the ass alone are there;
Soften, O heart, for thy God!

Dear little arms and sweet little hands,
That stretch for thy mother, my God;
Soft baby eyes to the mother's eyes;
Melt, O heart, for thy God!

Waxen touches on mother's heart,
Fingers of the Babe, my God;
Dear baby lips to her virgin breast,
The virgin mother of God.

The shepherds have come from the hills to adore
The Babe in the manger, my God;
Mary and Joseph welcome them there;
Worship, O soul, thy God!

But I alone may not come near
The Babe in the manger, my God;
Weep for thy sins, O heart, and plead
With Mary the mother of God.

May I not come, oh, just to the door,
To see the Babe, my God;
There will I stop, and kneel and adore,
And weep for my sins, O God!

But Mary smiles, and rising up,
In her arms the Babe, my God,
She comes to the door and bends her down,
With the Babe in her arms, my God!

Her sinless arms in my sinful arms
Places the Babe, my God;
"He has come to take thy sins away;"
Break, O heart, for thy God!





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