THE NATIVITY by EDNA DEAN PROCTOR

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.

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

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