Advent Calendar

In the countdown to Christmas,
The Advent doors peel open
One by one.
Here we find an orange or candlestick,
And maybe, tomorrow, a singing dove.
Better would be to find—
Behind some numbered door—
An answered prayer
Or Christmas miracle,
Some wholly holy gift:
Peace to heal the world,
Broken chains for all oppressed,
A cure for every dread disease.
What can a painted orange or candle serve?
Perhaps they give us this,
As we wait for greater things:
They teach us to see,
Behind the door of this new day,
Those tiny, hidden, priceless gifts:
A sparrow coming awake at dawn,
The curl of a finger around a pen,
A breath of sweet December air,
The sound of a giggle through a wall,
A song known by heart.
Love is in these things,
Making a place within us
For something—someone—awesome
To be born.