In stables and sheds

In stables and sheds,

kitchens and loungerooms

where trees are trimmed and illuminated

and nativuty scenes erected,

and where they are not;

where questions are asked

and objections raised,

where humans struggle

and sometimes doubt,

where the downtrodden gather

to become schooled in resistance,

where infants dance with delight and wonder

and old people pause to reflect,

where children are reckless enough to claim their voices

and challenge their elders,

where the just discover their anger

and politeness gives way to righteous insistence,

where generosity, compassion and hope reassert themselves

to confront the greed, brutality and fear at the centre of the universe;

here, in these places

among earth’s dust and straw,

and in many places like them

the Logos of God will be,

is being, born,

to shine again,

defiantly

in the darkness.

© Ken Rookes 2018