Child in Cradle with Kneeling Girl

Vincent van Gogh
pencil and charcoal drawing, 1883

She has no gold, no myrrh, no frankincense,
Yet comes to him this night on bended knee
To rock his cradle, not a recompense,
But a gift to him. This is tranquility—
Small girl of five or six in a cotton dress,
A tiny infant sleeping with one hand
Grasping a blanket, warm against his chest,
Cheek resting on a pillow. Understand
There are no halos here, no angel wings
Like Botticelli painted, or Bernard,
And yet the hand that rocks the cradle brings
Us to a place where those of high regard
Bow down and worship, humbled at the sight
Of infinite inhabiting finite.

Next
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

Is Churchill America’s Hero? (ft. Sean McMeekin)

R. R. Reno

In this episode, Sean McMeekin joins R. R. Reno on The Editor’s Desk to talk about his…

The West Distorted

Sebastian Milbank

G. K. Chesterton’s novel The Flying Inn begins with a strange seaside encounter involving one Misysra Ammon,…

Does Just War Doctrine Require Moral Certainty?

Edward Feser

Pope Leo XIV has made it clear that the U.S. war on Iran does not, in his…