Resounding angel horns and trumpets sing
The Towering glory of the Holy King,
Whose coming was once prophesied of old
When Israel’s land to bondage had been old
And all the world in darkest plight had been
Without the power to break the bonds of sin.
And yet the mighty monarch comes not nigh
In tempest from a brooding, angry sky,
Nor in the earthquake, nor in lightning flash
To ravage earth and all mankind abash,
But in tiny form of weakling child
And all who seek his face are thence beguiled.
A star announced the moment of his birth
And hovered o’er the darkness of the earth,
And magi from the distant east arrived
To gaze upon the source of hope revived,
The God in human form who would in time
Efface the woeful stain of Adam’s crime.
There in the manger flanked by parents dear
The Boychild stirs and all our worldly fear
Is dissipated by His mighty peace
That cleaves the sullen night and gives release
To poor mankind from chains that bound each soul
And now restores the virtue Satan stole.
All praise to God the Father who has stayed
The hand of wrath and hastened to our aid
In giving us His one and only Son
To mend the innocence that was undone,
And to the Holy Spirit, God of love,
The advocate he granted from above.
Amen.
This poem by © Sean O’Neill is featured in his 15th book of poetry, A Twitch Upon the Thread, 2021. Available at Amazon.com.
See other Nativity poems:
- A Child My Choice, by Robert Southwell
- Born This Eve, by Lynne May
- On the Nativity of Christ, by Romanos the Melodist
- The Incarnation – A Christian Hymn, and A Star, by Sean O’Neill
Top photo credit: Angels and shepherds worship the newborn King, Painting by Peter Paul Reubens (cropped), 1619, in the Bavarian State Painting Collection, source at Wikimedea.com. Image in the Public Domain.
Sean O’Neill is originally from Glasgow, Scotland, and currently lives in Lansing, Michigan, USA. He has published several books, including novels, poems, and a series of very helpful and instructive books on a beginner’s guide to writing, including How to Write a Poem: A Beginner’s Guide.