Bliss Carman, et al., eds. The World’s Best Poetry. 1904.
I. The Divine Element(God, Christ, the Holy Spirit)The Star of Bethlehem
Henry Kirke White (17851806)W
The glittering host bestud the sky,
One star alone, of all the train,
Can fix the sinner’s wandering eye.
From every host, from every gem:
But one alone the Saviour speaks,
It is the Star of Bethlehem.
The storm was loud, the night was dark,
The ocean yawned, and rudely blowed
The wind that tossed my foundering bark.
Death-struck, I ceased the tide to stem;
When suddenly a star arose,—
It was the Star of Bethlehem.
It bade my dark forebodings cease;
And through the storm and dangers’ thrall
It led me to the port of peace.
I ’ll sing, first in night’s diadem,
Forever and forevermore,
The Star!—the Star of Bethlehem!