singing for Christ

Singing with the Angels

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, December 26, 2020

 For Maia by

Gary Johnson
A little girl is singing for the faithful to come ye 

Joyful and triumphant, a song she loves, 

And also the partridge in a pear tree 

And the golden rings and the turtle doves. 

In the dark streets, red lights and green and blue 

Where the faithful live, some joyful, some 

troubled,

 Enduring the cold and also the flu,

 Taking the garbage out and keeping the

 sidewalk shoveled.

 Not much triumph going on here—and yet

 There is much we do not understand. 

And my hopes and fears are met

 In this small singer holding onto my hand.

 Onward we go, faithfully, into the dark

 And are there angels hovering overhead? 

Hark.

“For Maia” by Gary Johnson. Used by permission of the author.