Tiny babe in a manger
When you were hungry, you cried
Eyelids closed at bedtime.
Eight strange hours of slumber
Brought you good and bad dreams
Trapped inside our time frame
Heaven stood by, watched every cry
Deep in the night and in the daylight, as
You learned to be human for me.
Mary held both your hands high as
You tried hard to walk straight
Hated every knee scrape
The ABC’s of an earth kind, and
Counting on your fingers
You had yet to master, ‘cause
Tender mistakes were the only way
Sinlessly hiding your secret at stake
You had to be human for me.
And I wonder why on this silent night
You withstood impatience for me
Stood in every line, never altered time
You refused to make it easy to be human for me
Water turned into sweet wine, and
Suddenly a city whispered of your family
Never had they foreseen signs
You must have been steady
til the time was ready
Even dead summer heat / winter’s cold freeze
Never once changed for your comfort or ease
You chose to breathe human for me.
And I wonder why on this silent night
you withstood discomfort for me
Chose to live and die in a harsher time
You refused to make it easy to be human for me
Flesh torn and bruised, briefly held in a tomb
Far from the stable where Mary held you
Love clothed in dust
Human for us.
