This is the hour my heart has waited for— This hour of stillness in the day's gay rush; This hour when I may let my thoughts recall The Christmas story. In this quiet hush That wraps my little world in treasured peace The Christmas message can ring out again— That priceless message of "good will to men." It little matters that the years have run Their busy cycles since that distant day: The vivid story is divinely true. The humble stable where the Christ Child lay Is a dear background for the tender scene— The gentle mother, the bright glowing Star, The Wisemen who had traveled long and far, And lying on a bed of fragrant hay, The little Child: How could they guess the way His feet must travel to the distant goal? The Christmas story was but just begun In that rich moment of the Child's dear birth; Triumphantly, its holy course has run Until it echoes 'round the eager earth; Until it echoes in our hearts today In quiet hours of consecrated thought. Ringing and joyous the divine decree— The message that the gracious Christ Child brought— Sends forth its stirring challenge to mankind— "Lift up your hearts, O weary sons of men, Peace and good-will dwell in the world again!" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...TO RICHARD R. WRIGHT - INSTRUCTOR by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON MOTHER NIGHT by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON CHAMBER MUSIC: 11 by JAMES JOYCE THE GOLDEN WEDDING OF STERLING AND SARAH LANIER by SIDNEY LANIER |