Chapter VII

Then in the young boy’s seventh year,
(For he already showed great skill)
While resting in a corner dark
The old man thought about his son,
What trade he would adopt in life,
What kind of man he would become.
He took his pails and other wares
And father, mother, and the son
Went to the greatest market there,
Jerusalem, the capital.
The trip was long but there they could
Get better prices.
So they went.
They strayed apart. The parents then
Sat down to try and sell their goods.
They paid no heed to the young boy.
He ran around.... The mother wept
And sought her son. There was no hint
Of where he was. She went at last
Unto a synagogue to pray
For his return and there, behold,
The child, her child, was sitting there
Among the rabbis in the midst
And teaching in his innocence
How men should live and love their fellows,
Should stand for truth and die for truth--
Without truth woe comes! “Woe to you.
Ye teachers and ye high priests too!”
The Pharisees looked on amazed,
The scribes all wondered at his words
And great was then the holy joy
That Mary felt!
For she had seen
Messiah, had seen God on earth
With her own eyes.... They sold their wares,
Then in the temple prayed to God
And cheerfully they started home.
They made their journey in the night
Amid the cool.
The Holy Children
Grew up together and they learned
Some more each day; and both their mothers
Were proud and happy when they saw
Their children.
But they finished school.
Then on the thorny path of life
They parted; both preached God’s true word,
The sacred truth for men on earth.
They preached and both were crucified
For freedom, sacred freedom true.
John made his way into the desert.
Thy son--among men; and with him,
With thine upright and truthful son,
Thou wentst along.
In the old hut
She left Saint Joseph there alone
To live alone among the strangers.
She wandered here and wandered there
Until at last she reached her goal
At Golgotha.