<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);">Flying Over West Texas at Christmas</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Oh, little town far below</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">with a ruler line of a road running through you,</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">you anonymous cluster of houses and barns,</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">miniaturized by this altitude</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">in a land as parched as Bethlehem</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">might have been somewhere around the year zero—</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">a beautiful song should be written about you</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">which choirs could sing in their lofts</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">and carolers standing in a semicircle</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">could carol in front of houses topped with snow.</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">For surely some admirable person was born</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">within the waffle-iron grid of your streets,</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">who then went on to perform some small miracles,</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">placing a hand on the head of a child</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">or shaking a cigarette out of the pack for a stranger.</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">But maybe it is best not to compose a hymn</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">or chisel into tablets the code of his behavior</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">or convene a tribunal of men in robes to explain his words.</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Let us not press the gold leaf of his name</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">onto a page of vellum or hang his image from a nail.</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Better to fly over this little town with nothing</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">but the hope that someone visits his grave</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">once a year, pushing open the low iron gate</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">then making her way toward him</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">through the rows of the others</span><br class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32);"><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">before bending to prop up some flowers before the stone.</span><div class=""><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br class=""></span></div><div class=""><span class="" style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32); color: rgb(32, 32, 32); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span><font color="#202020" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 32, 32);" class="">- Billy Collins</span></font></div></div></body></html>