Kneeling at the Window on the Eve of Christ's Nativity
By Ann Applegarth - Roswell, New Mexico, USA - 25 November 2015
A moon as white as mother's milk.
Soft snow that rivals bridal silk.
Bold starlight gleams across the plain.
I shield my eyes from beauty's pain.
Then, through my fingers' slatted screen,
one glance, then two -- and once again
I force myself to face the night --
its wondrous stillness brittle-bright.
From heaven's dazzling purity
sweet mercy drops descend on me.
O Christ, my famished soul's desire,
come! Baptize me with holy fire!