The Boy and the King

Oh, see! In the sky! A star! A star!
It shines like radiant bloom—a gem,
Near, and yet afar, afar,
With shining petals and silvery stem.
It seems to grow from the hillside there
Where the oxen and the donkeys share
A cavern stall. And now, behold!
The cave itself seems turned to gold!
And the ass and the ox are looking down
In the stable room that is bright as day.
And in the straw is a baby fair
With an angel face and silken hair.
The beasts are making a joyful sound,
They sing to the child in a lowing tone
As they kneel, they kneel on the trodden ground;
And the doves aloft on their rafter throne
Join in the song with rustling wings.
And a shepherd comes in the singing night
To bring a lamb, all softly white.
And now to the house come riding kings!
Purpled, and jeweled, and bearing gifts.
They open ivory casques, and drifts
Of myrrh and incense fill the air.
Then they bring forth gold, and they pour, they pour
A kingly ransom upon the floor.And I have nothing, nothing at all
For the little one an offering,
For I am the slave who cleans the stall,
And runs to serve at my master’s call.
But I fetch a drink from the hillside spring
For the mother of the tiny child.
Her smile is very sweet and mild.
But the babe! The babe! When I look on him
It’s as though a sword had pierced my side,
And I wish I could cry it far and wide:
This is the King! The King! The King!
The One we have waited for so long!
Foretold in prophecy and song!
But in the inn my master sleeps
All unknowingly through the night.
He will not wake for this wondrous sight.
And when I tell him he won’t believe.
So I will be still and only grieve
That I cannot follow the Holy One.
But some day, surely, when I am free,
My ransom bought, my slavery done,
Oh, then, in prayer to bend the knee
And with a joy that is piercing sweet
Embrace my Lord and kiss His feet.
With tears my eyes shall overflow.
Oh, to see His face! And know! And know!