Nine Lessons

Tonight was the night of our church Nine Lessons and Carols service. This is an annual event always done just before Christmas. If you don't go to church the service comprises nine bible readings that tell the story of the birth of Jesus from Genesis forward interspersed with appropriate carols.
What struck me tonight was the poetry in the lyrics of the carols that we sang and how well they chimed with the rhythm of the tunes. Some of them actually suggest the tune when you read them as poetry. It's also quite surprising how succinct they are in the story that they tell. When I compare that with the work I create and the struggle it sometimes is to achieve I look upon these hymns with new wonder.
Of course these hymns probably went through several revisions and took a good while to actually write. I take a lot of comfort from poets that tell me they revise their work several times and take ages to create a piece, that's me, I do that. I'm not particularly clever or superhuman, but I do have poems within to get out. Knowing that we are all roughly the same makes me feel normal, part of a group. Where I come from poetry is not normal, so I seek unity. A bit like Christians gathered in a Church worshipping together singing carols, unity is good. It produces positive results and cuts through any isolation from the secular world. Tonight I stood in a full church, felt good, enjoyed the lyrics and sang my heart out.

Peace Dave.