December 07, 2009

Prayer Comes Easy in a Barn

My children and I built a pole barn from the ground up through the hot winds of a Utah summer. Little by little we were able to provide shelter from the elements and create a place of protection for our animals. I’ll always remember the December morning I went out to feed and found a homeless man shivering in the hay. I gave him a ride into town and tried to help him reconnect with what little support system he had. Some weeks later after I had fed and watered the horses, the sunrise broke over the summits of the Wasatch Range. The snow was crisp and so cold it creaked under foot. My mind went back to Jeff the homeless man. For centuries man has taken refuge in a barn. For centuries they have been the salt of the earth. This poem is an attempt to express the feelings that came over me that December morning.


Prayer Comes Easy in a Barn
by Paul Kern

When sunlight bathes the winter morn,
All creation is reborn.
The horses watered, fed and warm,
Prayer comes easy in a barn.

When Mary’s babe his eyes did open,
He saw the sheep, the goats, and oxen.
In a feeder filled with fresh cut hay,
He first began His earthly stay.

It was cold without, but the warmth within,
Came from the love of his Next-of-kin.
He was not kept from the noble beast;
Nor from the shuffle of its cloven feet.

Simple folk there went and in awe they stood,
Unbathed, unschooled, unread, but good.
To welcome in this newborn king,
Amid the livestock and the steam.

The sounds and smells of earthy creatures
Caressed the child as gentle fingers.
Mary his mother gave birth that day,
To a shepherd for all who’ve lost their way.

It all began in a humble barn,
With the animals, our King was born.
There’s something special that I find,
With the hay and beasts – a peace of mind.

When sunlight bathes the winter morn,
All creation is reborn.
The horses watered, fed and warm,
Prayer comes easy in a barn.


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