A Little Lower Than the Angels

“let’s go and see!”–as if there was anything else to say or do
but their voices and choices are right there on the page
next to the angels

after the sky turned from silent night to glory
their voices must have rung wrong in their ears
flattened out and plain, words spilling unthought

“let’s go and see!” like a child at the zoo
–“Mommy, the lions are out today!”–
how inane the King’s chosen audience would sound

except the Word pours himself into their poverty,
and how profound, to be moved when God moves;
not to will or to work but to witness.

their flat voices lie still on the page
“let’s go and see.” the dreams and gifts
and prophetic epiphanies are for others

I read on to see what they saw: baby in the manger
God in human form
word incarnate

their choice has to be mine too, to stop
and see this thing the Lord has made known to us
these shepherds and me.