A Dark and Starshine Night

(for my daughter over the ocean)

It is a time of year to be born. Hearts
creaking open to hear narratives of joy,
mangers setting up in churches
across nations, and we who bring you
into the world are unready, stunned.
In the long nights every swaying step
a learning and we never know
if we’re getting it right. In all lives
we have a stake; but for any ache,
frustration, disappointment, fear
we have no remedy but love.
Nudge those heart-doors a bit further;
let the light spill on frost-hard ground.
Is it now the time and place to leave you
to this shadowed earth, this home
for those in need?

Inspired by:
1. My daughter’s birthday
2. PAD Chapbook Challenge Day 28
3. This article about a baby abandoned in a church nativity scene.