The Four Kings
1. I gave him gold,
That wondrous, infant Lord
But might have known the fate it had in store;
To be the kernel of his mother's hoard
Until it reached the desperate and poor:
I hear the whispers as I slowly die
That he took suffering for His royalty.
2. I gave him incense
To make a lifelong prayer
Because the star said he would be a priest;
Its sweet smoke rising in the sullen air
To signify the coming of a feast:
And as I kneel to pray with him this night
I see that star grow black and then glow bright.
3. I gave him Myrrh,
A symbol of His fate,
A gift for one whose sorrow I could see;
And whose trajectory has been both steep and great,
Ending in sudden death, then victory:
For as I read despatches from the West,
They say His followers have been supremely blessed.
4. I gave him manuscripts
From sources rare,
Of Greek enquiry and Persian trance
To reinforce the Hebrew love of prayer
And help His messianic cause advance:
And as I cast my final horoscope
I see Him risen, born to bring us hope.