At last the child. At last for Mary
The sweet fulfillment of those waiting months.
Now thought flung high must leap still higher,
Beyond conception, beyond bringing forth,
For this was not an end but a beginning.
The mother must have known,
Having that pure perception to conceive
The Saviour of the world—she must
Have known she could not cradle him too long,
Could not withhold him, even as he grew.
(That three-day searching, and the finding
Among the learned, later would confirm
The inescapable demand
To loose the son and heir.) Thus Christ revealed
Had to be given to a waiting world.
The light at Bethlehem threw shadow
Of cross to come; incredible affection,
Capacity for sacrifice,
Blessing all centuries to follow after.
Hail challenge of that hallowed Christmas morn!
