Honour All
Failing lights and dropping needles
Hardly fit to greet the kings,
Turkey soup and crusty stilton,
Tired cards on sagging strings:
Christmas time that came too early
Ends in weary, bloated gloom,
Carols sung in late November
Fade as old routines resume.
Yet, as we watch with foreboding
As his presents are unpacked,
Jaded with our more than plenty
We should recall the things he lacked:
And as we resent the normal
We should walk his exiled way,
Grateful for the things we value,
Thankful for the quiet day.
May our purple, Advent season
Last until the holy night
When we sing our songs of greeting
Full of vigour and delight;
And may our extended season
Honour all that came to pass
From the Maid's Annunciation
To the mother's Candlemas.