Poems (King)/Noël
Noël
WAR'S din was stilled, the brazen trumpet dumb;
Within the scabbard slept the sword of strife,
And 'neath the Roman eagle's wing, the world
Drank the sweet cup of peace. A holy hush,
Presaging issue high, fell o'er men's hearts,
And in the sombre night of pagan gloom,—
Oh! miracle of love—heaven stooped to earth,
And gave to fallen man the Prince of Peace.
Within the scabbard slept the sword of strife,
And 'neath the Roman eagle's wing, the world
Drank the sweet cup of peace. A holy hush,
Presaging issue high, fell o'er men's hearts,
And in the sombre night of pagan gloom,—
Oh! miracle of love—heaven stooped to earth,
And gave to fallen man the Prince of Peace.
On Bethlehem's lamb-flecked hills theshepherds watched,
While purple night, star-sown and fragrant, bent
Above the fleecy folds, when lo! a light,
Paling the myriad-flashing orbs, shone round,
And in the golden sheen—like jewel set,—
An angel stayed his flight. The startled air
Thrilled to the music of his message sweet:
"Fear not, for unto you this day is born
A Saviour, who is Christ the Lord," and then
Upon the shore of midnight silence broke
Wavelets of melody that rose and fell,
Like to the shimmering laughter of the sea.
'Mid snowy flash of wings in upward flight
The herald angels faded from the view,
Dropping melodious fragments of their song
Down through the blue and starry floor of heaven.
While purple night, star-sown and fragrant, bent
Above the fleecy folds, when lo! a light,
Paling the myriad-flashing orbs, shone round,
And in the golden sheen—like jewel set,—
An angel stayed his flight. The startled air
Thrilled to the music of his message sweet:
"Fear not, for unto you this day is born
A Saviour, who is Christ the Lord," and then
Upon the shore of midnight silence broke
Wavelets of melody that rose and fell,
Like to the shimmering laughter of the sea.
'Mid snowy flash of wings in upward flight
The herald angels faded from the view,
Dropping melodious fragments of their song
Down through the blue and starry floor of heaven.
Anon, in orient skies flames out a star
Whose mystic flashing woos from royal thrones
O'er fervid seas of sand, the sages old
To worship Him, the newly born, the Christ.
Now in that lowly, long-sought midnight cave,
With hearts bowed humbly at the Child-God's feet,
Forgot their kingly state, they offer Him
The fragrant tears of dusky, eastern groves,
With jewelled veinings of the mountain's heart.
The splendid pageant fades, then homeward speed
With hearts elate the happy Magi guests,
Their downward slope of life henceforth to be
Lit by the radiance of Bethlehem's star.
Whose mystic flashing woos from royal thrones
O'er fervid seas of sand, the sages old
To worship Him, the newly born, the Christ.
Now in that lowly, long-sought midnight cave,
With hearts bowed humbly at the Child-God's feet,
Forgot their kingly state, they offer Him
The fragrant tears of dusky, eastern groves,
With jewelled veinings of the mountain's heart.
The splendid pageant fades, then homeward speed
With hearts elate the happy Magi guests,
Their downward slope of life henceforth to be
Lit by the radiance of Bethlehem's star.