Today's Sermon #47

AS FRESH, AS ALWAYS NEW

As fresh, as always new
As it has always been
The first fall of snow
Falls soft as in a dream
To transform the sad brown
Of late November
Into a lavish scene,
The ermine of December

And every year we wonder,
Forlorn as we are,
What sudden clap of thunder
Or brilliance of a star
Could stop us where we are,
Could stir the roots to sense
Out of the dark once more
Rebirth of innocence.

Will it be born again,
Fresh as the first snowfall,
That love without a stain?
Who knows, who can tell?
Yet for an interval
Always the Christmas grace,
That gift beyond our will,
Makes earth a holy place.

~ May Sarton, 1912 - 1995