| |
| THREE Kings came riding from far away, | |
| Melchior and Gaspar and Baltasar; | |
| Three Wise Men out of the East were they, | |
| And they travelled by night and they slept by day, | |
| For their guide was a beautiful, wonderful star. | 5 |
| |
| The star was so beautiful, large, and clear, | |
| That all the other stars of the sky | |
| Became a white mist in the atmosphere, | |
| And by this they knew that the coming was near | |
| Of the Prince foretold in the prophecy. | 10 |
| |
| Three caskets they bore on their saddle-bows, | |
| Three caskets of gold with golden keys; | |
| Their robes were of crimson silk with rows | |
| Of bells and pomegranates and furbelows, | |
| Their turbans like blossoming almond-trees. | 15 |
| |
| And so the Three Kings rode into the West, | |
| Through the dusk of night, over hill and dell, | |
| And sometimes they nodded with beard on breast, | |
| And sometimes talked, as they paused to rest, | |
| With the people they met at some wayside well. | 20 |
| |
| “Of the child that is born,” said Baltasar, | |
| “Good people, I pray you, tell us the news; | |
| For we in the East have seen his star, | |
| And have ridden fast, and have ridden far, | |
| To find and worship the King of the Jews.” | 25 |
| |
| And the people answered, “You ask in vain; | |
| We know of no king but Herod the Great!” | |
| They thought the Wise Men were men insane, | |
| As they spurred their horses across the plain, | |
| Like riders in haste, and who cannot wait. | 30 |
| |
| And when they came to Jerusalem, | |
| Herod the Great, who had heard this thing, | |
| Sent for the Wise Men and questioned them; | |
| And said, “Go down unto Bethlehem, | |
| And bring me tidings of this new king.” | 35 |
| |
| So they rode away; and the star stood still, | |
| The only one in the gray of morn; | |
| Yes, it stopped,—it stood still of its own free will, | |
| Right over Bethlehem on the hill, | |
| The city of David, where Christ was born. | 40 |
| |
| And the Three Kings rode through the gate and the guard, | |
| Through the silent street, till their horses turned | |
| And neighed as they entered the great inn-yard; | |
| But the windows were closed, and the doors were barred, | |
| And only a light in the stable burned. | 45 |
| |
| And cradled there in the scented hay, | |
| In the air made sweet by the breath of kine, | |
| The little child in the manger lay, | |
| The child, that would be king one day | |
| Of a kingdom not human but divine. | 50 |
| |
| His mother Mary of Nazareth | |
| Sat watching beside his place of rest, | |
| Watching the even flow of his breath, | |
| For the joy of life and the terror of death | |
| Were mingled together in her breast. | 55 |
| |
| They laid their offerings at his feet: | |
| The gold was their tribute to a King, | |
| The frankincense, with its odor sweet, | |
| Was for the Priest, the Paraclete, | |
| The myrrh for the body’s burying. | 60 |
| |
| And the mother wondered and bowed her head, | |
| And sat as still as a statue of stone; | |
| Her heart was troubled yet comforted, | |
| Remembering what the Angel had said | |
| Of an endless reign and of David’s throne. | 65 |
| |
| Then the Kings rode out of the city gate, | |
| With a clatter of hoofs in proud array; | |
| But they went not back to Herod the Great, | |
| For they knew his malice and feared his hate, | |
| And returned to their homes by another way. | 70 |
| |
