Author: Luisa Perkins
•6:00 AM
The Shepherds, Arnold Friberg (b. 1913)

New Prince, New Pomp

Behold a silly tender Babe,
In freezing winter night,
In homely manger trembling lies
Alas! a piteous sight.

The inns are full, no man will yield
This little Pilgrim bed;
But forced He is with silly beasts
In crib to shroud His head.

Despise Him not for lying there,
First what He is inquire;
An orient pearl is often found
In depth of dirty mire.

Weigh not His crib, His wooden dish,
Nor beasts that by Him feed;
Weigh not His mother's poor attire,
Nor Joseph's simple weed.

This stable is a prince's court,
This crib His chair of state;
The beasts are parcel of His pomp,
The wooden dish His plate.

With joy approach, O Christian Wight!
Do homage to thy King;
And highly praise this humble pomp
Which He from heaven doth bring.

--Robert Southwell (1516-1595)
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5 comments:

On 12/12/08 , SydneyMin said...

I really enjoyed that poem. I've never heard it before. Thanks for sharing!

 
On 13/12/08 , Virtualsprite said...

Gorgeous! Has that ever been set to music? The meter suggests it.

 
On 13/12/08 , Luisa Perkins said...

Virtualsprite, as far as I know, it has not.

The only thing I know of Southwell's that has been set to music is "This Little Babe," which appears in Benjamin Britten's gorgeous piece "A Ceremony of Carols."

 
On 13/12/08 , Julie Wright said...

love that picture!

 
On 14/12/08 , charrette said...

I just sang this last weekend as part of Benjamin Britten's Ceremony of Carols. The melody is absolutely haunting.