Where is the story this Christmas?

Does it lie

In themes left dormant

Under trees

Or hidden beneath

The tinsel and baubles of non-existent snow?

Do themes of wonder

Not resonate

In minds that vibe

To soundbites filled

With songs

That only reminisce of feelings never felt?

Have we hidden hope

Beneath myths 

Made up

Of stories crafted

For consumers

Urged to purchase happiness through red and green?

Where is the wonder

Of a gift 

That offers more

Than empty boxes

Filled with plastic

Toys that are discarded within days?

Is our message

So concealed

Beneath the rhetoric

Of legalistic

Pedants more bent

On form than upon mercy?

Perhaps the story

Is too blunt

Or simple

Or too full

Of angels

And an unexpected birth

Where humble shepherds

Not the wealthy

Were the heralds 

Of the mystery

That might

Give hope to those who do not fit the mould

Is it too uncomfortable

That the child

And his parents 

Were forced to flee

As refugees 

By a ruler bent on self and power

Is this too real for times

When populism

Rises high

But neglects 

The lost who

Worship blindly at its feet 

Wonder waits in calmness

Where stories

Of angels

Singing gloria

Gladdens hearts

And gives hope of more than eternal nothing

And shares that night when  

Shepherds

Who hear

And journey

And wonder

At the promise of the child they see

It speaks the story of the wise

Who follow the star

And find

A child

A king

Born in humble circumstance

And warn the parents

Who flee

To safety

In lands afar

And then find

Safety amongst strangers whose language is unknown

My heart looks for hope

Amongst the tinsel

Trees and baubles

Beyond the snow

To my home in summer

Where hope reigns and the saviour comes