A Poem a Day for Advent: Dec. 1st

I'm going to try posting a poem each day during advent.  The poems will be by various writers and selected by me.  I may even throw in a few of my own.  We'll see....

The Risk of Birth
This is no time for a child to be born,
With the earth betrayed by war and hate
And a comet slashing the sky to warn
That time runs out & the sun burns late.

That was no time for a child to be born,
In a land in the crushing grip of Rome;
Honor & truth were trampled to scorn--
Yet here did the Savior make His home.

When is the time for love to be born?
The inn is full on the planet earth,
And by a comet the sky is torn--
Yet Love still takes the risk of birth.

                                                  --Madeleine L'Engle, Christmas, 1973