a poem in my pocket

from a strictly human perspective
(which is our only small point of view),
jesus confined in utero would have been
considered an “unplanned” pregnancy;

mary could have been stoned (at worst)
or labeled a divorcee (at best) if joseph
hadn’t been the man who stepped into
his hard role as husband and father of
the young and the restless (present on a

holy night). infant delivered into smelly
cave; later, trio left town as refugees to
escape paranoid despot’s slaughter of
the innocents (are any of us innocent

when it comes to) not recognizing
the full divinity, cosmic authority,
and humblest, self-sacrificial love
of that singular squalling baby boy?