A Child Is Born

a poem

Crèche, December 2023, Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church, Bethlehem. Photo: Munther Isaac.

Listen to an audio recording of A Child Is Born:

This Christmas Eve,
Christians around the world
will celebrate the birth of a child 
in a stable in Bethlehem,
two thousand and twenty-five years ago.

In the long, dark days that follow
the triumph of the Christ child’s birth 
fewer than 100 kilometers away in Gaza,
children will be killed,
children will be maimed,
children will be orphaned,
children will be starved,
children will be traumatized,
children will be born,
on bloody sheets, 
on filthy floors,
in rain-soaked tents,
in mud and rubble,
unheralded,
uncrowned,
unworshipped, 
unpraised,
unknown.

And when a child is born 
to be murdered by bombs or bullets
before he can walk and speak, 
read and write;
when another child is born 
to die of starvation or disease
before she can grow up to become
a doctor, a teacher, a poet, a mother;
when more children are born
to be driven into the desert
where they have no home, 
no school, no playground,
no hospital, no hope, no future,
will our sins be forgiven,
will our souls be saved?
Who among Christians will gather
each year and honour 
on a silent, holy night
the birth of Gaza's martyred children?

A big, heartfelt thank-you to all my readers and commenters for your support! I wish every one of you a peaceful, harmonious Christmas filled with light and love! 💖

---

Don’t know what to give a close friend or family member for Christmas? How about a

---