(x = space)

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A Gift from Western Asia to the World

(on the day of Saint Nicholas)

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God

It’s dark

The light is coming

Like Immanuel

Who’s here

And always coming

To the call of the season

Advent

After all

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Like the advent of the airplane

Or hybrid roses

Bred intentionally

Everywhere

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For good or ill

We co-invent new things

And yet in a dark street

Like my own

With one light for company

You came into

The world

Seemingly deserted

Certainly bereft

Of a savior

Who would match divinity

With barbarism

To save us

All barbarians

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Who knew nothing

Of an inner life

With you

Except by accident

Of prophets

And some other heroes

So that we knew of virtue

And your name

Beyond your name

But in a real way

To have such things

Well

We were lost

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And in that town

Razed and rebuilt

So many times

Under one light

You came

Nicene

Human and

Divine

To bridge the damnable gap

That we had built

Through consequence

Of sin for will

And simply keeping

Only

To our side

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To bring us over

Come to us first

As at the first

There was creation

And now

Reconciliation

For the one-sided

Who remain

Lost that way

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And shall you give by grace

To every generation

Hope in each one born

Offered many times

In each one’s

Life

To appreciate what’s on the other side

Of you

And us

To model the walking over

Four ourselves

And for our children

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And shall we call this grace

Of something else

It is the same

The offer of salvation

Through bridge-building

In the flesh

Of your child

The child that’s you

And us

Somehow

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The advent

And the miracle

On arrival

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Such wonder

Such bliss

A reality

In the making

That the world needs

And typically doesn’t know

Until we meet you

And teach us

All about the bridge

Live on both sides

At last

And then offering

By will

To take us to the middle

And we both

Also with steps of our own

Pass to the other side

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All of which to say

Merry Christmas

Maybe we’ll see you

In this room

At this place

On Earth

And everywhere

And at the bridge

The most

Extraordinary gift

You are

For us

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C L Couch

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Photo by Darya Tryfanava on Unsplash

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