Star Silver
by Carl Sandburg
The silver of one star
Plays cross-lights against pine green.
And the play of this silver
crosswise against the green
Is an old story……
thousands of years.
And sheep raisers on the hills by night
Watching the wool four-footed ramblers,
Watching a single silver star-
Why does the story never wear out?
And a baby slung in a feed-box
Back in a barn in a Bethlehem slum,
A baby’s first cry mixing with the crunch
Of a mule’s teeth on Bethlehem Christmas corn,
Baby fists softer than snowflakes of Norway,
The vagabond Mother of Christ
And the vagabond men of wisdom,
All in a barn on a winter night,
And a baby there in swaddling clothes on hay-
Why does the story never wear out?
The sheen of it all
Is a star silver and a pine green
For the heart of a child asking a story,
The red and hungry, red and hankering heart
Calling for cross-lights of silver and green.
4 comments:
Why do I get the feeling that you have been hankering to post this for a while now? Hey, and CONGRATS on getting into Sue's book!! Yay!!
Yes, indeedy. I have many, many things I've been hankering to post.
And thank you. Congrats back at you. I can't wait to read everybody's contributions. I plan on giving the book as my courtesy Christmas gift. (Assuming it doesn't cost a fortune.) I hope they sell a million copies for Nie-Nie.
First of all, welcome back! And secondly, I love Carl Sandburg poetry. Excellent selection.
Nice choice, I do love that poem too. Reading short Christmas poems became part of my Christmas activity, together with my kids. Then we choose our favorite verses and include them in our cards to send out. Thanks for sharing this. Have a Merry Christmas!
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