Star over Bethlehem (12 page)
Read Star over Bethlehem Online
Authors: Agatha Christie
Can you hear the Wheel a-whirring?
And the menace of its purring?
See the colour of a rainbow as it gleams?
Can you see the shining mesh
That is spun for human flesh?
Can you hear them?
Do you fear them?
Will you dare to wander near them?
The silent white-robed Spinners
As they spin the Web of Dreams â¦
The conqueror from the battle by their gleam is led astray,
Where the fragile threads enfold himâthere his armour rusts away â¦
The boy who goes a-ploughing at the dusky hour of eve
Sees a Vision grey and goldenâand his furrow he must leave.
And the maiden in the village, who has knelt beside the lake,
And has seen a Dream-face picturedâgoes unwedded for his sake â¦
Oh! if your eyes shall see them,
You had better turn and flee them,
For no power born of earth shall hold you then.
And you'll let the world go by,
Seeking Beauty till you die!
If you hear them,
Oh! beware them!
And never venture near them!
The silent white-robed Spinners
As they spin the Thread of Dreams â¦
There are Threads of Red and Golden! There are Threads of Grey and Green!
There are Threads of White and Silver. And they merge in dazzling sheen!
There's a Web of wondrous weaving that is Rose and Amethyst,
And a Purple Strand of Mystery that fades into the mist â¦
And oh! there's love and longing! There's a heart to laugh and grieve,
There's Wonder ⦠and there's Pityâwhere the white-robed Spinners weave â¦
Oh! who shall find the Spinners?
The silent white-robed Spinners?
The tender cruel Spinners
As they spin the Web of Dreams â¦
Â
B
ARE
brown branches against a blue sky
(
And Silence within the wood
),
Leaves that, listless, lie under your feet,
Bold brown boles that are biding their time
(
And Silence within the wood
).
Spring has been fair in the fashion of youth,
Summer with languorous largesse of love,
Autumn with passion that passes to pain,
Leaf, flower, and flameâthey have fallen and failed
And Beautyâbare Beauty is left in the wood!
Bare brown branches against a mad moon
(
And Something that stirs in the wood
),
Leaves that rustle and rise from the dead,
Branches that beckon and leer in the light
(
And Something that walks in the wood
).
Skirling and whirling, the leaves are alive!
Driven by Death in a devilish dance!
Shrieking and swaying of terrified trees!
A wind that goes sobbing and shivering by â¦
And Fearânaked Fear passes out of the wood!
Â
The Road of Dreams leads up the Hill
So straight and white
And bordered wide
With almond trees on either side
In rosy flush of Spring's delight!
Against the frown
Of branches brown
The blossoms laugh and gleam,
Within my dream â¦
There is no Joy like Joy in Dreams â¦
Upâup the Hill
My flying feet
Go magically winged and fleet
And like a bird that flies at will!
So shall I find
What God designed
Thereâwhere the Open Country lies
Before my eyes â¦
There is no Fear like Fear in Dreams â¦
Which, swift as Death
Pursuing fast,
Gains on me, till I feel at last
Upon my neck its icy breath â¦
The Dream is dead!
The Joy is fled!
The Road of Dreams
Leads up the Hill and faintly gleams â¦
Oh! Dream most fond,
What lies beyond?
Beyond the Hill â¦
Â
T
HE
South Wind comes a-whispering, a-whispering from the Sea,
And tells of waters cool and clear,
Of far off strands
With golden sands
And Halcyon days to be.
And oh! there's life a-stirring at the very heart of me
That listens to the South Wind, to the South Wind from the Sea.
The Forest come a-murmuring, a-murmuring all around,
And speaks of magic dark and sweet,
Of charms untold,
Enchantments old,
Of nymphs with hair unbound â¦
And oh! the life a-stirring, it quivers at the sound,
It quivers at the murmur of the Forest all around.
There's a Voice that comes a-calling, a-calling from the Lea:
“Who walks with Me in wind and storm,
He knows no rest
But only zest
God's great wide world to see!”
And oh! the life that's stirring, it struggles to be free
As it hears the Voice a-calling, a-calling from the Lea!
Â
I
N
the dark woods I shall find peace!
There shall I learn at last
Forgetfulness!
Or, if that may not be,
I will remember what is past
Most joyfully!
On the high hills where once I went,
I shall not come again
Triumphantly!
But it remains for me
To laugh into the face of pain
Defiantly!
By the deep seas I dwelt content,
There, by your side,
In harmony â¦
Now there is left for me
Naught but to face the incoming tide
Courageously!
In the dark grave there lies release,
There shall I sleep anew
Nor wake again â¦
And if that shall not be,
I will remember only you,
And live as you would have me do
Most valiantly!
Â
I
KNOW
a city where black lions dwell
And guard a fountain in a giant square.
The City rises round it, white and proud.
The streets are broad and wideâand you and I
Walk there together, gladly, side by side;
We go in silenceâspeak no word, but each
The other's thought has understood and heard â¦
Our feet seem not to touch the ground, so swift
And fleet we speed together on our way.
Between us there is understanding. Ay!
And all around is Beautyâalso Peace â¦
It is a dream â¦
But oh! when Life shall cease,
And many thousand years have passed away,
We may be born again, perchance, and dwell
In that great city built by mightier men
Who toiling through long centuries, have learnt
To banish Pain ⦠It may be soâwho knows â¦?
It may be you and I shall live again â¦
Â
A
WHIRLING
of dead leaves,
A gathering in of sheaves,
The stripping of the trees,
The ebbing of the seas,
The shifting of the sands,
A vision of far lands â¦
A sundering and a thundering
Of prison bars that fall!
The answer to a call
New destiny to shape â¦
A silence ⦠and a breath â¦
We call itâDeath!
Nor dare to sayâEscape!
Â
A C
HILD
has passed through the woods today,
Hush! You shall find him there at play!
Seeâsnowdrops scattered in the glade,
And nestling close in childlike grace,
The crocus lifts his chubby face,
Serene and unafraid!
And out on the downs
In their straight green gowns
The daffodils wait ⦠Whilst hidden quite
The shy blue violets in delight
Peer forth to tempt his careless hand â¦
And the Child who passes by today goes laughing through the land!
A Child has passed through the city street,
Follow the track of his little feet
â¦
Golden-hued baskets on the curb,
A lifted head and a brightened eye
As the busy worker passes by
And the flowers his thoughts disturb â¦
A sudden stir
In the wintry air!
A tired heart that knows a gleam
Of strange sweet joy ⦠A transient dream
Of all the things that might have been â¦
And a Child who passes through the streetâwho passes all unseen â¦
Stay, Child! What is thy name?
Whence art thou come? Who gave thee birth?
My Mother, the Earth
Bore me in joy!
She, the All Wise
Fashioned my limbs
In this fair guise
Without alloy.
Who is thy Father?
The Breath of a Flame!
In the Future is written the Might of his Name
â¦
Offspring am I of the Seen and Unseen,
Of that which shall come, and of that which hath been!
Wisdom of Agesâand Promise of Dawn,
Calling to life all the life yet unborn,
Lo! in the CHILD is the Hope of the Earth!
So shall I passâbringing Spring and Rebirth!
Â
N
IGHT
gave me birth, and to my fashioning went
Fear and Unrest, Hate that will not relent,
Pain, and a Joy too keen to face the light,
Passion, Desire, and Mystery of Night â¦
A wreath of stars is set upon my brow,
And, twining round my feet, pale lilies grow,
My body has the beauty of the Moon,
Its slender whiteness girt with holy rune.
My heart is full of doubts that softly wake,
Longings not understoodâthe strange sweet ache
Of unfulfilled desire ⦠Dreamful of Fate,
Veiled in my nightblack hair, I stand and wait!
This is my hour!
Eternity itself halts on its ceaseless round,
And all the world halts with it for a little spell,
And in the quivering stillness comes the sound
Of all the secret music that I love so well:
The sighs of lovers, and the haunting cry
Of tawny beasts, and the awakening call
Of drowsy baby birds in nests so high â¦
My outspread arms rule over all!
This is my hour!
The stars around my head have paled away,
The lily buds are opening gold and gay,
From out the slumbering hills there cometh One
Most glorious withoutâwithinâthe Sun!
About my limbs the purple mists unfold,
Upon my headâa Crown of Blood and Gold!