Loving looks the large-eyed cow,
Loving stares the long-eared ass
At Heaven’s glory in the grass!
Child, with added human birth
Come to bring the child of earth
Glad repentance, tearful mirth,
And a seat beside the hearth
At the Father’s knee—
Make us peaceful as thy cow;
Make us patient as thine ass;
Make us quiet as thou art now;
Make us strong as thou wilt be.
Make us always know and see
We are his as well as thou.
A Christmas Prayer
Summary
"A Christmas Prayer" by George MacDonald opens in the nativity stable, where a cow and an ass gaze with quiet wonder at the Christ child lying in the hay. From that humble scene, the poem becomes a heartfelt petition: the speaker asks to be made peaceful as the cow, patient as the ass, and as serene and strong as the infant Jesus. The verse closes with a longing for the assurance that all people, like the child born at Christmas, belong to the Father.
