I TELL us, tell us, holy shepherds, What at Bethlehem you saw. -- 'Very God of Very God 'Asleep amid the straw.' Tell us, tell us, all ye faithful, What this morning came to pass At the awful elevation In the Canon of the Mass. -- 'Very God of Very God, 'By whom the worlds were made, 'In silence and in helplessness 'Upon the altar laid.' Tell us, tell us, wondrous JESU, What has drawn Thee from above To the manger and the altar. -- All the silence answers -- Love. II Through the roaring streets of London Thou art passing, hidden Lord, Uncreated, Consubstantial, In the seventh heaven adored. As of old the ever-Virgin Through unconscious Bethlehem Bore Thee, not in glad procession, Jewelled robe and diadem; Not in pomp and not in power, Onward to Nativity, Shrined but in the tabernacle Of her sweet Virginity. Still Thou goest by in silence, Still the world cannot receive, Still the poor and weak and weary Only, worship and believe. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE CRYSTAL CABINET by WILLIAM BLAKE A WOMAN'S LAST WORD by ROBERT BROWNING THE CASTLE OF CHILLON by LETITIA ELIZABETH LANDON PARADISE LOST: BOOK 1 by JOHN MILTON LITTLE JESUS by FRANCIS THOMPSON WATER FOWL by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH THE LIVING GOD by ABRAHAM IBN EZRA |