Fathom Mag
Poem

Breathe

Published on:
December 24, 2019
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This Christmas Eve
My infant son
Lies wrapped in swaddling cloths
And oxygen tubes. 

Vulnerable.
Our hearts have held their breath
Too many times
For love of his little life.

Tonight I marvel
That an eternal God
Would make himself
A breathing baby boy

And, vulnerable,
Sleep in our sin-sick world—
That, having died,
We might breathe again.

Michael Stalcup
Michael Stalcup is a Thai American missionary living in Bangkok, Thailand. His poems have been published in Commonweal Magazine, Ekstasis Magazine, First Things, Presence, Sojourners, and elsewhere. Michael co-teaches Spirit & Scribe, a workshop at the intersection of spiritual formation and writing craft. You can follow him at michaelstalcup.com.

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