CHRISTMAS FAIR

I do not know how visions come, or where they go,
Except when worlds are wise with nearly falling snow,
And when I see the windows in the neighbor stars
That open to disclose, dispense salvation's stores.

I do not know how angels move or where they stay,
Except when words of love transfigure what we say,
And when I hear each earth-dressed creature testify
That Christ was born to heal, to bleed, to sanctify.

I know the Spirit speaks in dreams and quiet hymns,
I know the Father sends his children to our homes.
I do not know where visions go, or how they come,
Except in seasons set apart for Christendom.

(Tucson, Arizona, December 1990)