A Christmas Carol: My Gift

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

by Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)

In the bleak mid-winter

    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 mid-winter

    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 mid-winter

    A stable-place sufficed

The Lord God Almighty

    Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him whom cherubim

    Worship night and day,

A breastful of milk

    And a mangerful of hay;

Enough for Him whom angels

    Fall down before,

The ox and ass and camel

    Which adore.

Angels and archangels

    May have gathered there,

Cherubim and seraphim

    Throng'd the air,

But only His mother

    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.

My Gift

Source of the poem: Christina Rossetti: The Complete Poems (Penguin Classics, 2001, 2005), text by R. W. Crump, notes and introduction by Betty S. Flowers

Know Your Bible?

At Bible Gateway or elsewhere, find the location in the Bible -- book, chapter, verse -- of the following:

"Then saith he to Thomas, 'Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side; and be not faithless, but believing.'" (King James Version)


Saturday, December 14's answer: Isaiah 32:17 (New King James Version)

Know Your Bible?

At Bible Gateway or elsewhere, find the location in the Bible -- book, chapter, verse -- of the following:

"The work of righteousness will be peace,
And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever."
(New King James Version)

Change: A Word Game

"The more it changes," wrote Alphonse Karr, "the more it is the same thing." Can you change the word SAME into the word IDEM in as few steps as possible? Change only one letter at a time, making a new word each time, and do not change the order of the letters from one step to the next. Proper names, slang, and obsolete words are not allowed.

Alphonse Karr (1808-1890)

My answer: Same, sane, sand, send, seed, seem, stem, item, idem (8 steps).

Emily Dickinson's Birthday

On this day in 1830, American poet Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts. Here is a short, untitled poem, a birthday greeting, that she wrote circa 1880, when there were fewer birthdays to come. She died in 1886. This poem was first published in 1915; it is in the public domain.

Birthday of but a single pang
That there are less to come --
Afflictive is the Adjective
But affluent the doom --

Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

To read a short biography of Emily Dickinson, click here. 

Elements of Happiness

"All these are elements of happiness -- love of nature, acquaintance with the wide earth, congenial intercourse with superior minds, and abiding friendships." So wrote American educator Charles William Eliot, who was president of Harvard University from 1869 to 1909.

Charles W. Eliot (1834-1926)

To read an article about Charles William Eliot, click here.

Winter and a Sentimental Journey

Winter, a lingering season,

is a time to gather golden moments,

embark upon a sentimental journey

and enjoy every idle hour.

--John Boswell

Embark upon a "Sentimental Journey"
with Ringo Starr.

The Things I Love Guide Me

A found poem of mine, a haiku, from the Bible:
Proverbs 4:23 (New Living Translation)

Guard your heart above
all else, for it determines
the course of your life.

Lighthouse during Night Time

(Photo: Pixabay)