In dulci jubilo,
These days grow darker. So
We sing beneath our breath.
In life we are in death.
Alpha es et O,
But footprints mar the snow.

O Jesu parvule,
We’ve moored our tree today
With fishing line, a nail—
We know how things can fail.
O princeps gloriae,
Misrule will have its way.

O Patris caritas,
Throughout the waiting house
We’ve strewn our mangers. Maybe
This year we’ll find one baby.
O Nati lenitas,
We’re all forgetfulness.

Ubi sunt gaudia?
This world is what we know.
O that we were there,
We sing because we’re here.
Into the night we go,
In dulci jubilo.

This article appears in December 2023.

Sally Thomas is the author of the novel Works of Mercy and the poetry collections Motherland and Among the Living, forthcoming in 2024. Her short-story collection, The Blackbird and Other Stories, will also be published in 2024.