Today, as well as the day for the year’s biggest sales, is also Boxing Day and, as the mysterious carol “Good King Wenceslas” should remind us, St Stephen’s Day. Most likely the Stephen commemorated today was the one martyred in the Acts of the Apostles, so one tradition of today is to sing carols that remind us of his faith. It’s also a day traditionally not about spending but of giving: boxing up gifts to give to the poor, hence the name “Boxing Day”. Today’s poem, for the second day of Christmas, draws together these themes, via an old St Stephen’s Day carol of indeterminate age, played beautifully in this version.
Never Faint Nor Fear
The tree still stands, the presents gone;
They’re boxed and put away.
We rest our feet and pick at food
Left over from yesterday.
Saint Václav and his squire walk
Through snow and in Christ’s footsteps;
We follow signs instead that tell
Of bargains and tax offsets.
If Stephen sat amongst us here,
He’d wonder at our tinsel.
The red, perhaps, foreshadows blood?
So sing the old-time minstrels.
O never faint, and never fear,
Unless your debt be looming.
Pay back your credit card and watch
The lowly rose e’er blooming.
The child soon will mount the cross;
How well St Stephen knew this.
Yet do not dwell so long on that,
Lest it should ruin Christmas.
Instead, you might behold the sight:
The Son of Man is shining.
He climbed the tree, for you, for me,
In sin and error pining.
It is not yours to climb, and yet
The grace may prove contagious.
Let Christmas drive you out in storms
With love and gifts outrageous.
The Consolations of Writing 
I think with your musical talents, you ought to go ahead and set this to music. A dozen years from now, it might be something we all sing on Boxing Day. At least, please prayerfully consider it.
I didn’t understand the reference to the St. Stephen’s Day carol, but did try to find something online. Could you include the link for what you are referencing?
Thanks for the encouragement! I’ll certainly think about it. The poem for the third day of Christmas might work better as a song to sing! The St Stephen’s Day carol that I referred to is this one: https://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/saint_stephen_was_a_holy_man.htm
Thank you. I’ll check it out.