A candle lit
A table spread
A hearth aglow
The smell of bread
The sweet and gentle things of earth.
*
A battle cry
The shriek of lead
Screams of pain
A soldier dead
The spasm of a world insane.
*
Bethlehem’s cold
An ox’s stall
A babe newborn
A shepherd’s call
The promise of a world made new.
*
Light the candle
Break the bread
Fire the hearth
God is not dead
The gentle things of earth still live.
*
Dorothy Jeanette Martin ©