Every night a different traveler passes through the town,

Seeking out a place to lay his dusty and weary head down.

The inn provides an oasis from the dirty road

As men, women, and children relieve their shoulders of their loads.

The simple fare we serve seems to keep their bellies satisfied,

But they never stay for long and my daily playmates always leave my side.

I hear the men’s raucous laughter and see a mother holding her child,

And the mess these travelers leave causes my eema to be riled.

My abba laughs and presses a kiss to her cheek,

And I cover my eyes but sneakily take a peek.

Although there is excitement day after day at the inn,

I feel a sense of loneliness creep through my heart amidst the din.

All these people pass on through and never stay

And I wish I could get to know them before they go away.

My soul longed for a playmate, a confidante, a friend,

And little did I know who that dusty road would send.

The sky was empty of stars on that gale-swept night

And the darkness was interrupted by stormy bursts of light.

The folks in the inn crowded together,

Eating and drinking but never minding the weather.

We were completely full, every room occupied,

My eema bustled to and fro and I never left her side.

Later in the evening Abba answered a knock at the door,

Flinging it open, stinging rain pelted the dirt floor.

Just over his shoulder I could see a girl shivering,

The donkey she rode trying to stay strong despite his own quivering.

I could not hear their voices, but her innocent eyes rose

And I saw in their dark depths that she knows…

She knows there is one more space, so I set down my platter on the table,

And running to my abba I announced, “We have a stable.”

He hesitates, but I push through and take the lead,

My parents’ worried calls from the inn, I do not heed.

We stumble into the stable, disrupting the animals’ sleep

And the man helps his wife down as she begins to weep.

“Thank you, thank you,” she cries as her young hands clasp my own,

And blessedly my eema arrives while the girl lowers herself with a moan.

Abba attempts to make the stable an acceptable place

And the husband of the young woman has a smile on his face.

The girl labors quickly and pushes forth new life

And the squirming babe wails while the man gazes at his wife.

I watch in silent wonder as my eema wraps the baby

And the thought crosses my mind that possibly… maybe…

Maybe this infant can be my friend, as foolish as it sounds,

Then his newborn gaze catches mine and my heart firmly pounds.

He radiates love, joy, and peace thirty seconds after birth

And bottomless joy fills my being as I sense his great worth.

“This boy is special, yet unknown to most of mankind”;

This marvelous thought seeps through the back of my mind.

I know he will be my friend for all the years to come

And that notion causes my pulse to quicken and thrum

Without knowing this little one gave me the greatest gift

And nevermore would my heart suffer a painful rift.

I contemplated what the man and young woman would name the boy

But I suppose only time would tell;

However, I heard a whisper of a name in the depths my soul:

Emmanuel.