'Give Your Heart'

 

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan;
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.

Our God, heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain,
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty —
Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim
Worship night and day,
A breastful of milk
And a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom Angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
Which adore.

Angels and Archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air;
But only His Mother
In her maiden bliss
Worshipped the Beloved
With a kiss.

What can I give Him,
Poor as I am? —
If I were a Shepherd
I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man
I would do my part, —
Yet what I can I give Him, —
Give my heart.

by Christina Rossetti

'In the Bleak Mid Winter' is one of my favourite carols, and I especially like the setting composed by Harold Darke, rather than the probably more famous one by Gustav Holst. Click here to listen to it being sung by King's College Choir.

Writing prompt:

• It seems to me that there is no better gift to be able to give anyone than 'your heart', but if you were able to give any gift to the world at this present moment what would it be? Write about it for a few minutes.
• Think of a gift that you have given, or received in the past that you remember well for some reason. Write about it.