Those characters
with their outlandish aura
(you´ve thought it)
covered in dust and full of goodness,
faces singed from the desert sun,
and their accent, a notably odd one,
(you thought it pretty),
with solemn gestures from the East,
quite excessive, truth be told
(it was in a stable, you know)
they left you all with
(how could you know)
yet another gift.
The fourth,
and the best.
(you´ve thought it)
covered in dust and full of goodness,
faces singed from the desert sun,
and their accent, a notably odd one,
(you thought it pretty),
with solemn gestures from the East,
quite excessive, truth be told
(it was in a stable, you know)
they left you all with
(how could you know)
yet another gift.
The fourth,
and the best.
You received in your shaky hands
the gold, the incense and myrrh.
The infant dozed.
Mary, dazed.
And you, perplexed, stammered,
-Thank you, what a surprise. Thank you.
And they left.
Upon leaving you three,
their naiveté splintered.
They recognized the nighttime darkness
that crawled within the palace.
And they, feeling full of glee and a bit naughty,
returned to their land
by a different way.
It was their change of heart
that was the greatest gift that day.
Without it,
who knows what
might have been
the gold, the incense and myrrh.
The infant dozed.
Mary, dazed.
And you, perplexed, stammered,
-Thank you, what a surprise. Thank you.
And they left.
Upon leaving you three,
their naiveté splintered.
They recognized the nighttime darkness
that crawled within the palace.
And they, feeling full of glee and a bit naughty,
returned to their land
by a different way.
It was their change of heart
that was the greatest gift that day.
Without it,
who knows what
might have been
of you three.
And of the world.
(Translated by Michael D. Wolfe)
