While the symbolism behind the gifts of the Magi remains open to interpretation, the gold is commonly said to have symbolized Christ's kingship on earth, frankincense (an incense) His priesthood, and myrrh (an embalming oil) His death.
An infant child
Of indeterminate age,
With gentle coos
Punctuated with happy squeals
Erupting from soft, pink, rosebud lips,
Waves his arms happily
Above his olive face.
All about this child
Kings and shepherds both
Kneel and bow their heads
In reverent awe.
The shepherds knew, of course,
The identity of the child
For an angel had proclaimed to them
That the savior long awaited
Had, at last, been born.
The kings, without an angel's intel,
Had looked into the night sky
And known from the alignment of the stars,
That a mightier king, someplace distant,
Had arrived on Earth.
So off they went,
Following a single brilliant star,
Bearing gifts so rich,
So exquisite and rare,
It seemed strange to see them
Laid before a Jewish child
Lying swaddled upon hay
In a simple animal's manger.
Yet all knew
The power of the child
And that great things lay ahead;
The symbols of the kings' gifts, however,
The frankincense,gold, and myrrh,
Hinted
At the heartbreak to come.
But on this night,
With the single brilliant star
Outshining all others,
With the angels singing in the heavens,
There was only the hush of the people
Inside the stable,
Punctuated by the lo of the cattle
And the bleep of the sheep,
To serenade the beginning
Of the greatest story
Ever told.
Beautifully descriptive. There is something magical and mystical about a child bringing the world to its knees. This poem is softly rendered with echo and chime. John
Bishnupriya Ghosh, Professor at University of Santa Barbara contacted me asking to use my painting of Mother Teresa in her upcoming book, "Global Icons" which was published by Duke University Press Books. You may see Judy Jones's painting of Mother T
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