Christmas Carols

by May Gibson

We hung a bright star in the window
That Christmas out in the west
Our hearts were hushed and waiting
For God’s Christmas gift to us.

Lights shone and voices were merry
And carols echoed in space.
It was comfort to know that His mother
Knew the perils a mother must face.

Dawn and my arms were empty
Carols sounded—but distantly there,
Was it on earth or their echo in heaven?
I knew not—too weary to care.

But I heard them again at evening
They roused me to happiness new.
For I knew the gladness she felt
That life had been spared to us two.

So the star twinkled on in our window
A symbol of joy, faith and love.
And each Christmas I’m humbly grateful
For the gift all others above.

(Iris Newbold of Burlington wrote, “This poem was written by my mother, May Gibson, shortly after the Christmas Day birth of my sister Evelyn. Mother told of hearing the cheerful voices and Christmas carols. She thought of Mary and the birth of her son, Jesus. She gave thanks for the Christmas gift given to her and her husband Herb. We continued to hang a Christmas star in our window for many years.”)