Holy Innocents
Hush, little one,
Don’t stir, don’t cry.
Do you hear the soldiers passing by ?
Do you hear the garrison
Over the wall ?
Tonight is their Winter free-for-all.
Little one, they have strange gods within
We hear their tales, we hear their din.
Tonight is a festival to one –
Saturn, I think – a night of fun.
And I saw Pilate come to behold –
He was dressed in finest red and gold.
And joining him, tonight at least,
Was good King Herod, up for the feast.
Hush, little one,
Don’t cry, don’t stir,
I hear the tension, bitter as myrrh.
I hear our rabbis,
Hear their priests –
Tonight, let’s hope they only feast.
Little one, we have a stranger pact
In Jerusalem, where neither act
To antagonise the delicate peace –
But one year soon, all that may cease.
And I saw Pilate, watching me –
Waiting to see what it is I’ll be.
And I saw Herod, watching you,
Waiting to see what it is you’ll do.
Hush, little one,
Don’t fret tonight,
They sound too drunken for a fight.
Perhaps their gods shall treat us kind,
And leave just love and peace behind.
Rhyming Couplets 