What woke us was the sound of a sheep bleating
which was joined by more sheep waking and calling out.
We struggled out of sleep. Was it a wolf
threatening them in the middle of the night?
We picked up our crooks, straining to get awake
and suddenly were blinded. At first it seemed
some huge birds had landed: we saw wings,
and then the birds had faces, then they spoke,
‘You must leave your flocks penned and safe,
and then you must follow us to a place
of great comfort and joy, a place of peace
for you and the whole world. Come at once’.
Following them was over rough fields,
jagged paths thick with coarse stones,
trees blocking the way, streams to leap;
the birds—or were they angels?—beckoning us on.
However hard and painful we had to keep going
having no idea of what lay ahead
till we reached a very ordinary building
drenched with light from a star directly above it.
We had arrived. The angels let us in.
We stood in shock. The scene, like a great hall,
was lit with such a vivid light that
thousands of candles could never equal it.
There a mother and father were rejoicing
over the birth of a beautiful new-born baby.
All smiled at us and made us welcome, a gentle
donkey lifted his head; an ox lowed.
A new born baby should be given gifts;
in fact some jewelled caskets lay unopened.
What could we give? We who had no money?
We knelt before the family and tried
to offer our gifts of thankfulness and praise
that we had been wakened by the angels,
that we had been brought to such a royal place,
that we had been given a glimpse of the kingdom of heaven.
Shepherds
Sylvia Read