A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL MY READERS
Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337) Adoration of the Magi
BC : AD
This was the moment when Before
Turned into After, and the future’s
Uninvented timekeepers presented arms.
This was the moment when nothing
Happened. Only dull peace
Sprawled boringly over the earth.
This was the moment when even energetic Romans
Could find nothing better to do
Than counting heads in remote provinces.
And this was the moment
When a few farm workers and three
Members of an obscure Persian sect
Walked haphazard by starlight straight
Into the kingdom of heaven.
U A Fanthorpe (1929-2009)
Ursula Fanthorpe is one of my all time favourite poets and this poem is my favourite of her Christmas poems, although it was a difficult choice. I hope to add more of her poems in the future.
Giotto witnessed an appearance of Halley’s Comet in 1301 and in his painting Adoration of the Magi, The Star of Bethlehem is shown as a comet above the child.
