Epiphany on Moreland Street

In the light of the night
they lay
unceremoniously discarded by the roadside
conifers cast aside with
season's cheer and a chill in the air

and as I drove past
the only guide, a set of headlights
I wondered- when does room at the inn run out?
what price must be paid for new life?

And there in rings as bright as day
like stars traced out across the sky
the stumps answered in
a chilled chorus of Hallelujah:

Keep your gifts.
It takes a life.
To make a manger...
to take the journey.

Colleen Gibson SSJ

 

Sr. Colleen currently serves as a campus minister at Chestnut Hill College. She is the author of the blog Wandering in Wonder,  columnist for the Global Sisters Report, and has been published in various periodicals including America, Commonweal and Give Us This Day. She made first vows as a Sister of St. Joseph in Philadelphia in August 2014.