(Richard Bell/Unsplash)

Giunse per Maria il tempo di partorire;
ed essa diede alla luce un figlio...

                                           (Luke 2: 6–7)

Mary didn’t merely bring Him forth
in winter words and murk of night,
but idiom as bright as birth:   
                  She gave Him to the light.

And the event is different: it’s translated
into sunlight—into words that say
the same thing but illuminated,
                  turning night to day.

The words themselves become evangelists.
Telling the tale, they turn a phrase
—with verbal photosynthesis—
                  into an act of praise.

Published in the December 2022 issue: View Contents
Topics

Deborah Warren is an award-winning author and poet, most recently of Strange to Say: Etymology as Serious Entertainment (Paul Dry Books, 2021) and Connoisseurs of Worms (Paul Dry Books, 2021).

Also by this author
© 2024 Commonweal Magazine. All rights reserved. Design by Point Five. Site by Deck Fifty.