Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE FIRST WAITS; A MEDITATION FOR ALL, by DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE FIRST WAITS; A MEDITATION FOR ALL, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: So, christmas is here again!
Last Line: And we live forevermore.
Alternate Author Name(s): Mulock, Dinah Maria
Subject(s): Christmas; Nativity, The


SO, Christmas is here again! --
While the house sleeps, quiet as death,
'Neath the midnight moon comes the Waits' shrill tune,
And we listen and hold our breath.

The Christmas that never was --
On this foggy November air,
With clear pale gleam, like the ghost of a dream,
It is painted everywhere.

The Christmas that might have been --
It is borne in the far-off sound,
Down the empty street, with the tread of feet
That lie silent underground.

The Christmas that yet may be --
Like the Bethlehem star, leads kind:
Yet our life slips past, hour by hour, fast, fast,
Few before -- and many behind.

The Christmas we have and hold,
With a tremulous tender strain,
Half joy, half fears -- Be the psalm of the years,
"Grief passes, blessings remain!"

The Christmas that sure will come,
Let us think of, at fireside fair; --
When church bells sound o'er one small green mound,
Which the neighbors pass to prayer.

The Christmas that God will give, --
Long after all these are o'er,
When is day nor night, for the LAMB is our Light,
And we live forevermore.






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