 | Poems and Lancashire Songs |  |
59
CHRISTMAS SONG.
I
In the dark-clouded sky no star shews a gleam;The drift-laden gale whistles wild in the tree;
The ice-mantle creeps o'er the murmuring stream,
That glittering runs through the snow-covered lea;
But, hark! the old bells fling the news to the wind!—
Good Christians awake to their genial call;—
The gale may blow on, we'll be merry and kind;—
Blithe yule, and a happy new year to us all!
60
The fir, and the laurel, all sparkling with rime;
Hang up to the ceiling the mistletoe-bough,
And let us be jolly another yule-time!
II
While, garnished with plenty, together we meetIn carolling joy, as the glad moments flee,
Thus sheltered away from the frost and the sleet,
With friends all around us, in festival glee,
We'll still keep the heavenly lesson in mind,—
A gentle Redeemer was born at this tide;
The wind may blow keenly, but we will be kind,
And think of the poor folk that shiver outside.
Bring in the green holly, the box, and the yew,
The fir, and the laurel, all sparkling with rime;
Hang up to the ceiling the mistletoe-bough,
And let us be jolly another yule-time!
61
III
He's a cur who can bask in the fire's cheery light,And hearken, unheeded, the winter wind blow,
And care not a straw for the comfortless wight
Who wanders about in the frost and the snow;
But we'll think of the mournful the while we are glad;
Our hearts shall be kind as the winter is keen;
And we'll share our good cheer with the poor and the sad,
Who sorrow and struggle in corners unseen.
Bring in the green holly, the box, and the yew,
The fir, and the laurel, all sparkling with rime;
Hang up to the ceiling the mistletoe-bough,
And let us be jolly another yule-time!
| Poems and Lancashire Songs | |