Sunday, July 18, 2021

A sweet poem: Christmas Assembly

 

Today I'm featuring another Christmas poem from an older Ideals Christmas magazine.  This one, called Christmas Assembly, will bring back touching memories for anyone who has ever attended their children's Christmas concerts.  The poem is by Mary Lou Carney, and a fine poet she is.

CHRISTMAS ASSEMBLY

Today is the Christmas assembly.

I sit with other parents
on brown metal chairs,
all watching the orchestra
file into the gym
wondering when our children
became so tall
    so grown-up
        so serious.

Fluorescent lights glint off
brightly polished baritones
highly buffed cellos.

Stuffy air is shattered by
scrambled sounds of squeaks
    and plinks
rumbling groans of bows
drawn across taut strings
as each musician
tackles the task of tuning.

The conductor steps onto
the small black platform,
flanked by poinsettias and pine.
Silence.
His baton hovers in the air
like a mute hummingbird.
Every eye is his.

The baton moves lightly;
the music begins --
filling the gym with
stirring strains of
    remembered carols
melodic magic of
    well-orchestrated parts
and I silently celebrate
the birth of Christ
    who
        tunes
            orchestrates
                conducts
my life.

-- Mary Lou Carney

Isn't that beautiful?  What a picture Mary Lou Carney paints with her words!

I especially love the thought of Christ tuning, orchestrating, and conducting my life.  So meaningful.

2 comments:

  1. Wow! What a great poem. Especially the ending. Thank you for sharing it!

    ReplyDelete

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