Rough manger

A rough Christmas, rough year.
So much lacking, so much awry.
We’ve lost the way, lost our center.
Pain and weariness under the tree.
We’re beginning to believe
we need saving.
This is why you come, and where:
in our struggles, to be with us;
in our darkness, to be light.
The rough manger,
you know where it is.
O come, O come, Beloved,
in the hard places
put your arm around us
and stay.