BETHLEHEM
Bethlehem, Beth Lechem, House of Bread:
Your white stones waited silent in the sun
For long years (long as people feel them run).
The prophets wrote no more; the Rabbis read
The old words and unraveled every thread
And found your secret out: you were the one.
And when the time came and the thing was done,
They spent the night at home asleep in bed.
Oh, they could put their fingers on the pages
That told the old fox Herod it was you.
But those uncircumcised, stargazing sages
Came first, and shepherds, wet with evening dew,
Had long since been there, and all had been fed
In Bethlehem, Beth Lechem, House of Bread.
Merry Christmas!
Remember: for more poetry like this, go to https://lanternhollow.wordpress.com/store/ and order Stars Through the Clouds! Also look for Inklings of Reality and Reflections from Plato’s Cave, Williams’ newest books from Lantern Hollow Press: Evangelical essays in pursuit of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. And look for Williams’ very latest book, Deeper Magic: The Theology behind the Writings of C. S. Lewis, due out Sept. 1, 2016, from Square Halo Books!
Donald T. Williams, PhD
