Poems

Quiet was the night; There were no hallelujahs, No long, loud, brilliant shouts of praise. Jesus was born: the fact unheralded But for one lone star which Bravely, Humbly Lighted the way.

Sweetness of nativity, the quiet growth, the heart preparing, focusing identity, adjustment to a life of sharing— Was this the glow that Mary felt when she had her angel vision? Did she thrill to know the child, to learn the greatness of his mission? Dear Christ, never born nor dying, now appearing, saving, freeing, gentle dawn of light within me! Joy to know thee fills my being. Fenella Farrar Bennetts.

It may have been cold, as it is now (we stand shivering in wool and fur) with a stable—said to have been down there— no fit place for a child newborn or his young mother, bedded on straw. The telling's all smoothed to the sound of a song.

With open books I pray, "Thy kingdom come," and seek through cherished pages, line by line, increasing understanding of the Father's pure design. My morning light.

Through Science we may learn to look above The cramping claims of sense to boundless Soul, Obey the gentle Christ command to love, And thereby gain our spiritual goal. Joseph W.

"How are you?" friends ask you daily; God tells us how we are, how man is. How is God's son? Shining and quenchless, steadfast, pure, is how Mind made him out of His light— His radiant one.

There is gratitude that lifts all fear And leaves God's child alone, to hear. There is gratitude that stills all pride And ushers angels to our side.

When all words fail And there is nothing more That can be said, And when confusion And despair Oppress and overwhelm, There is still a sanctuary Where we can go And find a peace And calm so sweet, Where all strife And bitterness Just melt away, And where we can Once more Secure our unity With God, Our loved ones, And our brother men— It is the sanctuary Of quietness And complete surrender To our Father-Mother Love . Amaryllis Hyde.

How pressures lift, how tensions yield When all self-centered strivings die, And hopes in higher service lie, As God's direction is revealed! This is the way of holiness, The way of never turning back, Of ceaseless good replacing lack Where God is ever close to bless. Louise S.

O blessed day when men reject the myth of matter and its laws, Acknowledging with gratitude the spiritual cause. Transplanting the affections of the heart from sense to Soul, Man knows his "life is hid with Christ in God"—eternal, whole.