A poem by Kathleen Ethel Burne (1879 - 1959)
Kathleen's
poetry collection "Poems by K.E.B." includes several poems written
during the First World War.
Sources:
Information kindly supplied by Lesley Young who has carried out
extensive research on the life and work of Kathleen, and members of Kathleen's
family.
Christmas
Eve, 1916 by Kathleen Ethel Burne
The little
lamp burns bright; the Babe
Lies in the
manger there;
The mother
bends above; her hands
Are clasped
in praise and prayer;
Her tender
face a-light with love
Looks down
upon Him there.
This little
Child was born, they say,
To save the
world from sin.
So still and
peaceful lies the scene-
How crept
the evil in?
What madness
swept across the earth
And plunged
the world in sin?
The
Shepherds kneel, simple souls,
Beneath the
open sky
They learn
to read the signs of God
And humbly
drawing nigh
They worship
here the Sign that flamed
From out the
midnight sky.
The Wise Men
from the East with gifts
In adoration
dumb
Bend low.
Stern searchers after truth,
But yet in
faith they come:
Before the
Mother and the Child
Their
restless doubts are dumb.
The gentle
large-eyed ox, the ass,
Stand gazing
without fear;
The camels
through the open door,
And small
wild things draw near-
Where all is
love and peace and joy,
What room is
there for fear?
So sweet and peaceful is the scene-
Ah, whence
crept evil in?-
Give peace,
O God, to weary hearts
And cleanse
our souls from sin !
Stretch
forth Thine arms, all-loving God
And draw Thy
children in !
