Bethlehem

Bethlehem is in my prayers at the moment as two friends of mine are staying there, here is a poem I wrote inspired by the incident when a number of Arab gunmen were held up in the Church of the Holy nativity:

Bethlehem

O Little town of Bethlehem,
How still we think you lie,
Maker of peace, you came to live,
But now your children die.

In the dark streets are sounding,
Gunfire and cries of woe,
Gone, the sounds of mercy,
Hatred’s seeds they sow.

Arab children crying,
Their father’s gun hands quiver,
Fierce soldiers praying to their God,
Can He still deliver?

Jehovah, Allah, Jesus Christ,
Three corners in the fight,
Hopes and fears and children’s tears,
Flow in you, tonight.