The Topeka State Journal

JUST FOLKS
BY EDGAR A. GUEST.
CHRISTMAS.
Was there lowlier place of birth
Ever known upon the earth?
A bleak and barren stable
And the mother's bed of straw.
And the rich who filled the inn
That would not let Mary in.
The angels who were watching
Thru the darkness, never saw
High the Star of Bethlehem
Shone above, but not for them:
Never once they ceased their laughter,
Never once they quit the room;
Of that number but a few
Ever cared or ever knew
That a woman had been ordered
To the stable's murky gloom.
Not until the Wise Men came
Did they learn that baby's name;
Not until the Wise Men offered
Gold and frankincense and myrrh,
Not until the break of dawn
Did they know a king was born.
And that God had blessed the stable
With the mother lying there.
Now the Star of Bethlehem
Which God hung above for them
Still leads us to the stable
And the manger where He lay:
And thruout the ages long
Men repeat that angel song
Which rang out above the stable
On that first glad Christmas Day.
(Copyright, 1922, by Edgar A. Guest.)