Wise Women Also Came, by Jan L. Richardson

Epiphany by Jane McKenzie

                      Wise women also came.

                      The fire burned
                      in their wombs
                      long before they saw
                      the flaming star
                      in the sky.
                      They walked in shadows,
                      trusting the path
                      would open
                      under the light of the moon.

                     Wise women also came,
                     seeking no directions,
                     no permission
                     from any king.
                     They came
                     by their own authority,
                     their own desire,
                     their own longing.
                     They came in quiet,
                     spreading no rumors,
                     sparking no fears
                     to lead
                     to innocents’ slaughter,
                     to their sister Rachel’s
                     inconsolable lamentations.

Wise women also came,

and they brought
useful gifts:
water for labor’s washing,
fire for warm illumination,
a blanket for swaddling.

Wise women also came,
at least three of them,
holding Mary in the labor,
crying out with her
in the birth pangs,
breathing ancient blessings
into her ear.

Wise women also came,
and they went,
as wise women always do,
home a different way.

© Jan L. Richardson from Night Visions: Searching the Shadows of Advent and Christmas. "Wise Women" prints and cards available at janrichardson.com