"Christmas Eve"

"Christmas Eve"

My footsteps crisp along the frozen snow,

      And horses toss out nostrilfuls of gold;

      The very stillness seems to reek with cold,

While shivering travelers hurry to and fro.

Pale stars glance from the violet sky—and slow

      Comes the vibrating moon, flaming and bold;

      Christ’s holy night sinks downward, fold on fold.

I feel the great world’s pulses thrill—and oh!

      Listen! I hear its sad heart beat, beat, beat.

Here in this chapel merry children sing;

      Hearth fires leap red in homes; and glad and sweet,

The Christmas bells of earth and heaven ring:

      “Peace and good cheer” to all—save me alone,

      Who know no peace because of one lost tone.

Here is "Christmas Eve" printed in the West Shore magazine for the December of 1890 issue, courtesy of the Ella Higginson Papers, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Heritage Resources, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA.