i stand in the manger corner
hoping somehow i'm not seen
near the cattle and the shepherds
i hide somewhere in between
mary holds her newborn baby
joseph strokes her matted hair
i stay silent in the corner
and i hope i'm not seen there
i'm no shepherd with a lone staff
i'm no wise man bearing gold
i've no christmas gifts to open
just the savior i might hold
and we paint things too romantic
look past joseph's worried face
where they had no inn to hold them
had to find another place
but they both knew that the moment
it would somehow still arrive
and the baby in the manger
he would make the world alive
their humility of spirit
near the gravity of loss
sensing somehow down the future
he would wind up on a cross
i'm away there in the manger
he's still looking for a bed
he awakes and there's no crying
still no place to lay his head
and the creches we configure
look so peaceful on this day
and we all remake the story
in our own and chosen way
this year's christmas is a challenge
i am old, my health not good
i'd not reach out much to others
even if i knew i could
so i hear the gospel story
every time the tale is told
i'm here in the manger corner
saying prayers within the cold
there's a king born much too humbly
should have come a different way
with a fanfare more deserving
in the brilliant light of day
but our god planned things much different
so my opened eyes could see
that this baby in the manger
was an awful lot like me
i stand in the manger corner
all the animals and me
i am silent in my staring
wondering what it is i see
no one's yet writ gospel stories
i just have to watch this live
mary, joseph, baby Jesus
let the christmas day arrive