"A Christmas Carol"

By Christina Rossetti

In the bleak mid-winter    
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,    
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,    
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter    
Long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him    
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away    
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak midwinter    
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty    
Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim    
Worship night and day,
A breastful of milk    
And a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels    
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel    
Which adore.

Angels and archangels    
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim    
Thronged the air;
But only His mother    
In her maiden bliss
Worshipped the Beloved    
With a kiss.

What can I give Him,    
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd    
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a Wise Man    
I would do my part,—
Yet what I can I give Him,   
Give my heart.

Adam Thompson