Rejoice, be glad
Only twenty days more
of looking
of waiting.

It's good to wait
It helps our impatience
If we let it.

In Advent
we clean the house
we dust the walls
and clean the floor
for Christmas company.

We mustn't forget
we too are a house.
We empty it first
of useless
things.

God fills it
with gifts for
Christmas
His love, his joy,
his peace.

Rejoice, be glad
He's already there
Always.

(Published in
The Golden Treasury
of Great Poems
August 1988
World of Poetry)