The Shepherds and the Magi

The Shepherds and the Magi

Mark Cooprider

In skies on which we’ve gazed each night 
Appears a bright and startling call; 

We peer to spy this doubtful light, 
A haloed signal, faint and small. 

The host of heaven sings, extolls 
In loud and full-thronged, glorious songs; 

We studied stars and ancient scrolls, 
Yet still half blind, we’re led along. 

Our flocks pad gently on the ground, 
Familiar grass we’ve felt since birth; 

Our camels trudge, the piercing sound 
Of steady footsteps shake the earth. 

We pass by sights we understand, 
In view of neighbors, dear-known friends; 

As foreigners in these strange lands, 
We travel towards an unmapped end. 

Our simple load is light, we bring 
No wealth nor grand authority; 

Adorned on high, we dine with kings, 
Bejeweled with our philosophies.

And yet as children we draw near,
Unknowing and still unprepared,
Filled up with joy and yet with fear.
Will all we are now be laid bare? 

We stop and gaze in silent awe; 
Our past, our journeys fade away.  
The calls we heard, the light we saw
In splendor coalesce today. 

We meet as one, enraptured with 
This scene, which holds and binds all things— 
The near and far, the heavens, earth— 
Where shepherds bow alongside kings.

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Mark Cooprider
Poet & Educator

Mark Cooprider is an educator, writer, and video creator. His writing has appeared in publications such as Front Porch Republic and Dappled Things (forthcoming), and his video work can be found on the YouTube channel “A Moonlighting English Teacher.”

Photography by Joe Straker