I have mentioned in a previous post how much I dislike the animated version of Wilbur the Pig. Here is a Wilbur I like very much, the wonderful poet Richard Wilbur. A couple of stanzas of his hymn/poem printed below will be printed on our service bulletin at Christ Church on January 4th. Wilbur does a good job, as Rembrandt does in his Adoration of the Shepherds (National Gallery, London) using with the light and the beams in the stable, showing how the shadow of the Cross is over the manger. To you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord!
A stable-lamp is lighted
Whose glow shall wake the sky;
The stars shall bend their voices,
And every stone shall cry.
And every stone shall cry,
And straw like gold shall shine;
A barn shall harbor heaven,
A stall become a shrine.
Yet He shall be forsaken,
And yielded up to die;
The sky shall groan and darken,
And every stone shall cry.
And every stone shall cry
For stony hearts of men:
God's blood upon the spearhead,
God's love refused again.
Richard Wilbur (1921-), A Stable-lamp Is Lighted, stanzas 1&3
Merry Christmas to all!
(click on the title of this post to hear Sufjan Stevens singing "O Come O Come Emmanuel")
2 comments:
Clifford: I'm totally with you and much prefer your Wilbur to the animated one. Thanks for this beautiful poem. (Thanks too for stopping by my blog--it's lovely to hear how your daughters are enjoying it!
Happy Near New Year!
Thanks, Sally. I was chastised recently for dismissing all of Charlotte's Web rather than just the animated version of Wilbur, but as a writer you were more careful!
We've been enjoying the Bible stories after mealtimes, and my son tried to get out of eating lunch today by reaching for it and asking me to read it!
I think I'll do a few more posts on Wilbur (the poet, not the pig).
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