This week two of my poems were published in the Vessels of Light Advent Poetry Collection. Here is one of them.
How Long?
How long does it take
for a star to form,
to live its life,
expend its warm,
to make its way
in cold, dark space,
to find a path,
mark out its place?
How long does it take
for the fullness of time,
generations to trickle
down David's line,
for the days to get shorter
'til the light's all but gone out
for Mary's whisper in silence
to feel like God's shout?
How long had God planned
for that one star to guide
wise men to Christ
from far and wide,
how long is His patience
that a star would be born,
that a people would wait
unforgotten and mourn?
How long, O Lord,
will we sing this song,
how long will we look
to the sky and long
for guidance, for hope,
for your return,
to follow the star
in which your light burns?This has been a rich year for Advent poetry, with offerings by
and Anam Cara in addition to the usual offerings by Malcolm Guite. I can barely take in all the goodness, and yet I keep returning for more. It’s a beautiful example of the prodigal nature of God, that image bearers keep offering words of light and hope in a dark and despairing world.