Asses’ hooves clap the cobbles
While sandaled feet smack the paving stones
As gravity gains the upper hand in the back yard
And the tyre hits the tarmac with the puff of smoke
Of a safe landing as you arrive
In mystery multiplied – the divine incarnate
In flesh and blood, leaving heads in the clouds
While the firstborn comes out unharmed,
Bouncing onto hay in noiseless arrival
Until there are knocks at the door – sounds 
Of a carpenter’s bench and centurion’s hammer,
As learned men and lowly shepherds,
Who’d heard the news, have popped along
To find heaven has come down to earth in silence.
 

November 2012