Monday, December 1, 2008

December 1

Prophets
by Anne Porter

Once in the Advent season
When I was walking down
A narrow street

I met a flock of children
Who all came running up to me
Saying that they were prophets
And for a penny they
Would prophesy

I gave them each a penny

They started out
By rummaging in trash-cans
Until they found
A ragged piece of silk

It’s blue, they said
Blue is a holy color
Blue is the color that
The mountains are
When they are far away

They laid the rag
On a small fire
Of newspaper and shavings
And burned it in the street

They scraped up all the ashes
And with them decorated
Each other’s faces

Then they ran back to me
And stood
In a circle ‘round me

We stood that way
In a solemn silence
Until
One of the children spoke

It was the prophecy!

He said that long before
The pear tree blossoms
Or sparrows in the hedges
Begin to sing

A Child will be our King.

3 comments:

Paulo Matheus said...

Cool! Very good!
Charlie, I am your fan in Brazil, many waiting for a "landing" of you here. When this is possible?

God bless you!

Juca said...

I simply loved the innoncence surrounding this one, how kids take no blame for doing whatever they do. The silence part silences my heart. See ya dude.

Unknown said...

I was helping my grand-daughter with her homework tonight on the phone. The homework was about poems about advent, that contains light abd rescue, I stumbled on your blog. Well what a pleasure and thank you for your work, gifts. God bless you as you have blessed me tonight.