The Gift
Trees and lights and bells and carols;
Bright-wrapped packages, piled high;
Winter’s sharp blow joins the heralds:
“Christmas-time is nigh!”
Mailmen hurry; shoppers scurry;
Time is fleeing – Oh! So fast!
Parties gather, loud and merry,
Grander than in Christmas’ past.
Pause a moment to remember
That a Savior’s simple birth
Still stirs angel wings in susur’–
“Peace to men; good will on earth!”
Now the Father’s hands that molded
The first Adam in the clay,
Gently ’round a manger folded,
Cradle a Baby in the hay.
So the Greatest Gift extended,
Gift of love and peace to all,
“God’s great love to man descended”
Calls us to a manger stall.
©1990 David Needham
Noted at The Christmas Alliance and submitted to The Carnival of Christmas, hosted this year by Cathouse Chat
More “insider story” stuff: I first jotted this down back in 1990 as a portion of dialogue for a Christmas musical drama (Mom in story read it to family as a piece of family tradition) along with several ad hoc songs for that production. Only this lil poem and one of the songs have seen use beyond that one production of “The Gift”. Everything else was rewritten (or newly written/arranged) for later productions, including all the (rest of the) dialogue. *heh*