As much of the country experiences cold temperatures, freezing ice and snow, I am thinking about this Christmas song. In the Bleak Midwinter is a poem by Christina Rossetti written prior to 1872.
My poetry book Illuminate, features the following poem, Outside Salzburg to my father’s first Christmas card drawing. My brother recorded a CD to accompany our book. Following my reading of this poem, he sings “In the Bleak Midwinter.”
Take a moment to focus on the season of Christmas.
Slow down.
Pray for peace.
As we feel the cold chill of the winter air and remember the tragedy of Sandy Hook, may we embrace each other a little longer
and find special ways to show kindness to one another and to our world.
Outside Salzburg
From the train, snow-covered hills beckon
outside Salzburg. The whistle echoes.
Trees stand tall and barren.
Weary travelers stare in wonder.Somewhere in the distance,
a child is torn from his mother’s arms,
a beggar reaches out with empty hands,
Somewhere, a woman grieves for her lost lover.But here—on the road to Innsbruck—
a church glistens on the smooth,
unblemished snow, calling out
Let
there
be
peace.
–Margaret Simon, all rights reserved
In the Bleak Midwinter
by Christina Rossetti
In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.Enough for Him, whom cherubim, worship night and day,
Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels fall before,
The ox and ass and camel which adore.Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;
But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.
To order a copy of Illuminate with CD by Hunter Gibson, click here. To order on Amazon, click here. I’ll give away a copy with CD to a randomly selected commenter.
For more great poems, join Poetry Friday over at Tabatha Yeatts’ place, The Opposite of Indifference.
Looks like we were on the same wavelength with Rossetti today, Margaret! Your brother did a great job with it. I already have your book 🙂
Margaret, you’re so brave to record your poem, I can’t even read my work aloud in an empty room with a cat as the only audience. Great post for today.
Beautiful words today, Margaret. I think this book with your father’s work must be so special to you. The music adds even more family love. Just terrific!
It’s a sad anniversary coming up. Thank you for the lovely, quiet tribute to the children and families of Sandy Hook.
A lovely treat for today, Margaret. And thank you , too, for the gentle words as we come up on the anniversary of the Sandy Hook tragedy.
Beautiful poem and song. Lovely to hear you reading and your brother singing. What a talented family. Thanks for these moments of peace and remembrance on the eve of the Sandy Hook tragedy.
The juxtaposition of your images is beautiful. Thank you for sharing your talents with us!
Beautiful images and a beautiful poem. What fun to hear you reading and your brother singing. Yes, I too wish PEACE for all of us.
Margaret, you have a beautiful speaking voice for reading poetry… your brother’s voice ain’t too shabby either! Your poem and this whole post is enchanting! Thank you for honoring Sandy Hook today.
I think we are all living “Outside Salzburg” lately, with so much dissension and grieving in the world, and so many inequities. The Sandy Hook anniversary coming up is going to be hard. Hope we can eventually get back “on the road to Innsbruck” and do something about the call for peace. Thanks for this post.
I can almost here the bells of that church ringing: Let…There…Be…Peace.
The recording is beautiful. Thank you and your brother for this gift today.
A lovely reading of this touching poem, Margaret. What a talented family you have!
This is lovely, Margaret. Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you for sharing your poem. I especially liked hearing it.