Sandro Botticelli
The Adoration of the Magi, c. 1478/1482
The soft light from a stable door
Lies on the midnight lands;
The wise men’s star burns evermore,
Over all the desert sands.
Unto all peoples of the earth
A little Child brought light,
And never in the darkest place
Can it be utter night.
No flickering torch, no wavering fire,
But Light—the Life of men.
Whatever clouds may veil the sky,
Never is night again.
… Lilian Cox, included in Masterpieces of Religious Verse, James Dalton Morrison, ed., New York: Harper & Bros., 1948, p. 229-230
