Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE NATIVITY, by EDNA DEAN PROCTOR Poet's Biography First Line: Down kedron's vale the wind blows chill Last Line: To find the manger-cradled king. Alternate Author Name(s): Dean Subject(s): Bethlehem, Palestine; Christmas; Jesus Christ; Mary. Mother Of Jesus; Women - Bible; Nativity, The; Virgin Mary | ||||||||
DOWN Kedron's vale the wind blows chill; The sun in the Great Sea has set; Its glow has gone from Zion's hill, From Ramah, and from Olivet; And on the Temple's marble walls And the Roman eagle by the gate, Sombre and shadowy, twilight falls, And the wide courts grow desolate; And eastward, black and still and deep, Looms the Salt Sea in sullen sleep, And Moab's barren mountains lie Gloomy and dim against the sky. Midway, up Bethlehem's terraced height Come toiling travellers, hastening To reach their shelter ere the night Its darker shade and fear shall bring From proud, palm-girdled Jericho, Whose tropic gardens still are green; From Hebron, fair its vines below, And many a hill and glen between; From Jordan's plains; from slopes that north Greet mighty Hermon towering cold; For Cæsar's mandate has gone forth That every house must be enrolled. Now darkness falls, and Bethlehem's inn Is crowded as a fold with flocks; Arches and court the travellers win, Group after group, with eager din; And, last of all, a pilgrim knocks A grave man, gently shielding there His wan young wife from the chill air Knocks at the strong door of the gate, And begs admittance, though so late: 'O keeper! strangers here are we From Nazareth of Galilee, And worn and weary with our quest; Unbar the gate, and let us rest!' 'Nay!' rough the host's brief answer falls, 'No room is left, save in the stalls Where stand the beasts. Now get you thither, Since late and lone you journey hither! No other place the walls afford.' And thus, that eve, a stable-cave Was the rude shelter Bethlehem gave To Mary, Mother of the Lord. But, lo! when midnight winds went by, Aflame was Bethlehem's watching sky! Great gulfs of splendor clove the blue, And, flashing their abysses through, God's angel stood within the ray, And to the shepherds cried: 'This day, In David's city, Christ is born!' And suddenly the heavenly host Filled all the air, and fear was lost In visions of celestial morn, As swelled that song of ecstasy Herald of Eden's prime again: 'Glory to God in the highest be, And on earth peace, good will toward men!' And the shepherds hastened, wondering, To find the manger-cradled King. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...MADONNA by KATHARINE LEE BATES BALLADE TO OUR LADY OF CZESTOCHOWA by HILAIRE BELLOC OUR LORD AND OUR LADY by HILAIRE BELLOC PLASTIC BEATITUDE by LAURE-ANNE BOSSELAAR A SONG OF MARY by LUCILLE CLIFTON ISLAND MARY by LUCILLE CLIFTON MARY'S DREAM by LUCILLE CLIFTON COLUMBUS DYING [MAY 20, 1506] by EDNA DEAN PROCTOR SA-CA-GA-WE-A; THE INDIAN GIRL WHO GUIDED LEWIS AND CLARK by EDNA DEAN PROCTOR |
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