…through the birth of Immanuel…
(From the Collect of the Day)
He saw me by the fig-tree,
desiring yet resisting,
drawn to know the truth of things
yet not looking for it there.
He heard dismissal from my lips,
saw straight into the heart of things,
called to life the truth in me;
I cannot walk away.
That God Himself should take our scum,
that He should walk right here and see –
nothing else but this remains:
I must follow in His way.
The Consolations of Writing 