Interfaith Hymn 06 Christmas Poem by Michael Maxwell Steer

We hymn this joyfullest of days,
with hearts alight and songs ablaze:
that what began so far away
can still hold power for us today:
The once and future coming king,
the queen, the dove, the heart of love -
& key to everything.

For every change that comes on earth
must still arrive a powerless birth
and challenge those who thought they knew
with buried echoes of what's true
Of once and future coming kings,
of queens, of doves, and hearts of love -
still keys to everything.

The anointed one, the child of man
arises still and learns to stand;
unheeded by the madding crowd,
s/he cries in prophet's voice aloud
That one, a future coming king,
whose queen and dove bring hearts of love
holds keys to everything.

His name's been claimed and much abused
by those whose motives were ‘confused',
yet still within our hearts there burns
the hope such lessons have been learned.
So a once and future coming king
brings queen and dove alive to love
as keys to everything.

Yet what we hymn here's not the past,
but what's to come, and built to last -
the golden age within our power
to make or unmake every hour:
Where every future coming king
is queen and dove and heart of love -
the key to everything.


14/9/10