"I would have brought rosemary..."

"...and when they
had opened their treasures,
they presented
unto him gifts;
gold, and frankincense,
and myrrh...."

if i'd have been
there
i would have brought
rosemary

or lavender...

something for her

I would have brought
large pots of
warm water
and filled the water
trough with
a drop or two of
myrrh

I would have
let her sleep with
her son in her arms
while the stars sang
and angels
whispered promises
of being
loved
and
understood

I would have bathed her
feet and
washed her hair
plaiting it neatly
so that
he could nurse
while she
rested
without
worry

I would have
gathered
the feathers of doves to
make a pillow for
her head and
asked them
to coo
softly
in the eaves
above her

I would have asked the
sheep for
wool and spun a blanket
for her child,
and another for
them to
carry on their
journey for warmth,
when the
nights were
cold under a cloudless
starlit sky...

and I would have brought
rosemary
because it holds the
scent of
love

modest and
enduring
beyond
the first
blush of
a
thousand
alleluias
and
the treasures
of kings

"Then took they
the body of Jesus,
and wound it in linen clothes
with the spices..."