Advent is the waiting space,
The calm before the storm,
Where you can find within that space,
The love held in the tiny form
Of the baby, full of grace,
Of his mother, in that place,
Within her nursing hands,
Caressing, warm,
Beginning and end. Alpha and Omega.
Advent is a slower dance,
A rumba, not a jive,
A chance to be in tune with more,
And keep your soul alive.
Don’t over think the Christmas chores,
Or fret about the gifts,
Remember those on other shores,
Who also call to mind
Both, the mother full of grace,
And her baby, in that place
With his little nursing hands,
Caressing, warm,
Beginning and end. Alpha and Omega.
Advent, as everybody knows,
Is a time for poetry, not for prose,
Within this space we learn restraint,
We hear of Joseph, what a saint!
New words pop up, liturgist’s high kickers,
Maranatha (formerly known as Snickers),
We are just human, so was he,
In the Temple did he see,
The humour in the way that we
Observe it with such gaiety?
But for now, we just wait for him,
Wishing our hearts were full of grace,
Wishing we were in that place,
Held by these little nursing hands,
Caressing, warm,
Beginning and end. Alpha and Omega.
– Dr Peter Nardone, director of music St Mary’s Beaminster