The Twelfth of the Twelve Days of Christmas

H/T to MS (Click on photo for a larger version)

This post is the last in my Twelve Days of Christmas series.

The picture came two years ago from a reader in Brookline, MA. It's a night shot whose darkness reveals more than any daylight photo might have shown us.

I was immediately taken with this side-street scene : a street lamp burning star-like above and a doorway from which spills a splash of light in the darkness. Which light is the source? which the reflection?

The lamp and the entry way, the star and the dwelling, the royal beauty bright and a door upon which to knock...

Dear Magi,
Were you confused?
Did you wonder if you'd taken a left instead of a right?
Had you misjudged the star's GPS?
Was it all a big mistake?
Could this really be the street? the place? the door?

The light spills into the night,
beckons and calls,
"This way! Come this way!
Let go your thoughts
of what-should-have-been
and open your hearts to what is
and to where he is
and to the warmth of his light
on this chilled, dark night..."

Teach us wisdom, Magi:
open our eyes to the star above,
to the glow of his presence
living just across the street,
lighting the paths we walk each day,
lifting us up and out of our darkness
to the radiance of his holy face...