”A Stable Season”

Leddy Hammock

"In Bethlehem a manger waits, long ago and so today,
Where hatred-weary people pray Love will come and lay there.
And so do countless stables stand in hearts as harsh as desert lands,
Rough shelters in the wind and sand, so Love will come and stay there –.

Love that opens fists of hate, heaps of gold on beggars' plates,
Love that shows a kindly face to enemies and strangers.
And walls of stables tremble so when winds of fear and judgment blow. For a stable hopes in Love alone and knows that Love's the answer.

Oh, Love, the prophets' only word, the only lesson left to learn,
The only end of heaven's work, and the only road that goes there —
Love that sees with mercy's eyes, holds its arms out open wide,
Threads its loom with separate lives and weaves them all together.

So, may the lamps of stables glow brightly lit that light may go
for miles in the darkness, so Love will find its way there."