OUR LADY in cold stable lay, The Babe was pinched with cold: St. Anne of Auray's clad like May In the green silk and the gold. Her cloak is set with glittering gem, And sewn with pearls a-thread; Too heavy her crusted diadem, For one old Granny's head. The priests they sing; the banners gleam, The music swells and dies; But she has gotten a golden dream Behind her painted eyes. As she goes up, and she goes down, Within her dream she sees Lord Jesus in a swaddling gown Upon Our Lady's knees. They fling her many a bough and bloom And roses for her floor; But she is seeing a hidden room, And the sun in at the door. The vines shake on the trellises And the shadows on the wall; The dove bidding a golden peace To her girl, slender and tall. The dreaming turns and shifts mayhap, And oh, the dream is blest! A Child creeps to His Granny's lap; His head lies on her breast. She sings a sleepy song and low, Such songs as women use Rocking the small Thing to and fro, In the dusk hour and the dews. St. Anne of Auray blesses the ships, She blesses the sea and land: She feels the touch of a young child's lips And the rose-leaf of his hand. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...FUCHSIA HEDGES IN CONNACHT by PADRAIC COLUM SIMON THE CYRENIAN SPEAKS by COUNTEE CULLEN A CHRISTMAS FOLKSONG by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR THE RUBAIYAT, 1879 EDITION: 71 by OMAR KHAYYAM A SERIOUS REFLECTION ON HUMAN LIFE, SELECTION by HENRY BAKER |