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| Epiphany by Janet McKenzie |
(This is the sixth in a series of Epiphany posts.)
The three kings of whom we sing are never mentioned in the gospel of the Epiphany. Indeed, there are two kings in the story but they are Jesus and Herod. What the gospel does report is that an undetermined number of magi (Persian priests/seers/astrologers) came seeking the new born King of the Jews. Our notion that they were kings - and that there were three of them - is the influence of artists and composers.
Poet Norma Farber offers us another possibility: suppose three Queens came in search of the Christ child? She plays out this imagery in her lovely verse, The Queens Came Late. Below you'll find a video of my reading the poem at mass a few years ago - and the text itself.
If a video doesn't appear below, click here!
The Queens Came Late
The Queens came late, but the Queens were there
With gifts in their hands and crowns in their hair.
They'd come, these three, like the Kings, from far,
Following, yes, that guiding star.
The Queens came late, but the Queens were there
With gifts in their hands and crowns in their hair.
They'd come, these three, like the Kings, from far,
Following, yes, that guiding star.
They'd left their ladles, linens, looms,
Their children playing in nursery rooms,
And told their sitters:
"Take charge! For this
Is a marvelous sight we must not miss!"
The Queens came late, but not too late
To see the animals small and great,
Feathered and furred, domestic and wild,
Gathered to gaze at a mother and child.
And rather than frankincense and myrrh
And gold for the babe, they brought for her
Who held him, a homespun gown of blue,
And chicken soup--with noodles, too-
And a lingering, lasting, cradle-song.
The Queens came late and stayed not long,
For their thoughts already were straining far-
Past manger and mother and guiding star
And a child aglow as a morning sun-
Toward home and children and chores undone.
- Norma Farber in
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