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The Quakers Before Christmas David Castro, Radnor Meeting, Pennsylvania

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through Penn’s woods,
We Quakers were quiet, in most merry moods;

To be happy and bright was a rare state for some,
Too often we Quakers were pensive and glum;

We worried and stewed over much going wrong,
Our list of concerns seemed so hopeless and long;

We prayed to end hunger, and warring and pain,
We held in the light all who suffer in vain;

Covid concerned us, and the Klu Klux Klan,
And also the plight of Afghanistan;

We cared for the changes in climate, so brutal,
We longed to be fair, and more carbon neutral;

The vegans among us had a terrible bother:
That God’s creatures continued to eat one another;

We worked hard for justice, for peace among all,
To make earth like heaven, before man’s great fall;

When these worries so endless slipped from our minds,
We summoned them back, through the New York Times;

But on Christmas Eve an angel flew down,
He had neither a halo, nor wings, nor a gown;

In the form of a man, in a plain hat and cloak,
The angel George Fox, cleared his throat, and then spoke:

“It’s good to be silent,” said he, “when you pray,
and only to speak when God says what to say.

But please, in your stillness and quiet and peace,
Don't lose your good humor, don’t let wonders cease;

Remember, I told you to walk with great cheer,
And to answer to God’s in each heart that you near;

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