Even as a girl, I worried about the three Kings and their camels getting
back home safely. Christmas goes by so quickly, we find those in this part
of the Nativity story soon leaving us so, at some point, I accepted that the world is their
home and therefore they are constantly travelling – constantly making it all come true..
STILL TRAVELLING
We think now of those three Kings,
Long since gone, bones dissolved
Into the tight care of history.
Making the world creak in their slow haste
To follow that great star
Blazing into eternity.
Bright, fierce and incomparable.
As their leaving tapped
Through the long deserts of time,
Never stopping until Bethlehem,
Birmingham or any bus shelter
Or rackety garden shed,
Where quiet love and courage
Made them hesitate.
Hold them still.
Travelling along the tops of hedgerows,
The camels great feet crushing snow
Down through solid cold branches,
Plodding into the big field
Alongside the frozen river.
Breaking the ice,
Drinking frozen water.
Camels and Kings being out there.
Kings and camels still travelling.
©2024 Gwen Grant
Happy New Year, Gwen !
Like “bones dissolved into the tight care of history.”
Wow Gwen!
Beautifully worded, Gwen 💜
Thank you!
Gwen.
Hope that means you like it, Sharon!
Gwen.
So kind of you to comment. Thank you.
Gwen.
Thank you and happy new year to you, too. Hope it’s a really good one.
Gwen.
“Never stopping until Bethlehem,
Birmingham or any bus shelter
Or rackety garden shed,
Where quiet love and courage
Made them hesitate.”
Love it!
“Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.’
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.”
It means I ‘loved’ your poem Gwen! Like all your poetry, they are a pleasure to read! And so original! Kind regards.
How kind you are. Thank you.
Gwen.
🙏wow
Thanks!
Gwen.
You’re welcome Gwen!
Love The Journey of the Magi – there’s a sense of inevitability about this journey – almost as if the words used are the only
possible words to use. Thank you for this and for your other comments. Much much appreciated.
Gwen.
Oh, how I love this! Only you would think of them still traveling!
What can I say!!! Glad you liked the poem
Gwen.
Makes me think;
Surely, any wise man, far enough from home, can be a king?
Absolutely!
Gwen.