HOME

a silent night in an obscure village

a newborn’s piercing cry

moon glow accompanies star shine from the East

in a stranger-filled town

far from home

a bedraggled couple denied housing

are squatters in a dilapidated den

a poor young girl

in the family way

with no womenfolk around to help

delivers her firstborn    a boy

her older husband

a carpenter by trade

kisses and swaddles his baby son

places him gently

on his exhausted wife’s breast

the teenage mother coos a welcome

to her cherished child

enfolds him in loving arms

as her mind ponders

the manger scene before her

out of place and out of sight

this trio of travelers huddles

among animals for comfort and warmth

inhales the fragrance of sweet-smelling hay

awe-struck shepherds led by starlight

hovering above this roadside stable

straggle toward the sleepy family with

claims of visions and voices on the hillside

a glow radiating from the boy-child’s face  

transcends the brilliance of the night sky

filtering like dust through rafters

of a ramshackle roof

this infant’s arrival in a simple shelter

became the springboard

for His message of love extending

through centuries yet unfolding

may all who hear the story

recognize its truth and realize

His birth was    and is

the perfect gift for an imperfect world

Though the birthplace of The King is Bethlehem

His home is your heart

Patricia A. Oplinger

Poems of the Super Moon, PEN WOMEN PRESS, Washington, D.C. (2015)