Advent Poems
- A Second Coming Poem -
- A Poem about Smiling -

Advent poems and poetry remind us to get ready for the coming of Christ.

You are welcome to use and share these Advent poems, provided you follow the Poem Terms and Conditions.


328. The Second Coming

     by Paul Berchtold, December, 2012

God tells each one: Prepare!
The prophets warn: Beware
Of sin and it's despair.

The angels have spoken
Of love's greatest token.
Sin's chains can be broken.

Comes more precious than gold
- as long ago foretold -
The Shepherd of the fold.

See how his flocks increase.
One day all wars will cease.
Welcome now, Prince of Peace!

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This next Advent poem is much longer. - 23 verses long. It's good for reflection and meditation.

I adapted it into a much shorter Christmas poem called My Christmas Gift Prayer. It's just 4 verses long, which I put in my 2011 Christmas cards.

Look closely at the faces of people in ancient pictures, statues, and photos. It seems life is impossibly hard. What's missing?


31. The Missing Ingredient (A Poem about Smiling)

     by Paul Berchtold, December, 2010

I wonder have I lost my mind?
It seems impossible for me to find,
In many ancient history books,
In pictographs and archeological nooks,
The face of someone truly smiling.

Statues and monuments for the people,
From lowest porch to highest steeple,
Why do I not any smile see,
In this vast ocean of humanity,
Could it really be, there is no smile?

No smile, it seems, for thousands of years,
Only punishing slavery, cruelty and fears,
The depths of sin, the flood of tears,
Only conquering armies yelling brutal cheers.
Wicked grins I see, but no real smiles.

I see rigid rulers with cruel faces,
So many slaves in strangest places,
Idols and temples and sacrificial burnings,
Screams and cries and helpless yearnings,
No peace, no hope. There is no smile.

Shields and spears and wars being fought,
Serious philosophers, students being taught,
Platters of fruits, the birds and the bees,
Food and goblets, wine and cheese,
Can you find in all this, a genuine smile?

Years go by, the time gets worse,
People go crazy, become perverse,
Wars and killings are tyrants' delights,
Hatred in the world, and everywhere fights,
There seems a law - against the smile.

The time arrives when all seems lost,
Caesar taxes everyone at a heavy cost,
He makes himself as the very gods,
And over the nations heavily trods,
Has he also smashed the smile?

Stricken by poverty, Joseph and Mary,
Can no longer in Nazareth tarry,
But quickly their precious burden carry.
Long is the journey across the prairie.
Is paying taxes, a reason to smile?

Clippity-clop the donkey keeps going,
Over hills and rocks and river flowing,
Many long nights, cold winds are blowing,
Mary's time is greatly showing,
With all these trials, can anyone smile?

They get to Bethlehem, a town of old,
Every inn is filled, every room is sold,
The evening's bleak, the night is cold,
They find scant shelter in a sheep fold,
Who would think to smile?

But take a closer look, in the manger worn,
The time arrives, a child is born,
Yes into a world, so wicked, war-torn,
Comes on this first Christmas morn,
In all the pain, the reason to smile.

Heaven and earth and angels all meet,
Look on the face of Mary sweet,
Gaze on the face of the Holy Child,
See on the face of Joseph mild,
Did you ever see such wonderful smiles?

Tradition says on the night of his birth,
All of heaven sang with greatest mirth,
And on the earth, from greatest to least,
Every person and child, every bird and beast,
Awake or asleep, everyone smiled.

What's binding you like a heavy chain,
What's keeping you in so much pain?
Tree lights and carols, and shopping the mart,
Can't remove the deep pain in your heart,
What you need the most, is heaven's smile.

Come now up to Mary, her treasure come take,
A gift so sweet, to soften your ache,
He'll lighten the load, help you endure,
Make you truly safe and secure,
Especially for you, they both have smiles.

Come on in, don't stay at the door,
And when you go out, come back for more,
No matter your circumstances, no matter how poor,
Even if crawling, you cry on the floor,
Both Mother and child, on you, want to smile.

Not from Santa, not from his elf.
You have to experience this smile yourself.
This smile so contagious, so friendly, so wise,
The best Christmas gift, the biggest surprise,
The deepest blessings are brought by this smile.

When did you see, a smile so real,
So happy, so genuine, your heart could feel,
A smile so peaceful, so deep, so fair,
You can't keep it in, it goes everywhere,
Like never before, making you want to smile?

The energy, the brightness, the lightness, the joy,
Comes only from this Mother and her baby boy,
Not from the most expensive tool or toy,
A peace, a calm that words can't employ,
You can only enjoy from this smile.

Smiling in peace, the child and his mother,
Increase the joy inside of each other,
Round and round the smile gets brighter.
Enter this circle to make your load lighter.
O precious treasure. O precious smile.

What smiles of deepest appreciation,
Thanking her son for his salvation,
Thanking his mother for trials of birth,
To bring him down onto this earth,
And fill it with joy, with the best of smiles.

History book figures are old, cut and dry,
People go to work and cry and die,
Statues are lifeless, and monuments too,
Why look among the dead for what is true,
There lives and waits, for me and you, the smile.

A smile that loves and keeps on giving,
A smile that gives and keeps on living,
A smile that grows, a story unending,
The healer of hearts, the deepest wounds mending,
A mother is holding, from heaven, our smile.

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             Poems by Paul Berchtold
      © Copyright - All rights reserved.
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You are welcome to use and share this poem, provided you follow the Poem Terms and Conditions.

The Story Book that started this Advent Poem

One day, during December in Advent, I bought a big book. It was a library discard, so it cost only 50 cents.

It had lots of pictures of ancient times. It showed how people did things, with photos and drawings of artifacts recording the history of ancient civilizations and cultures. There were even photos and artifacts of medieval times. And recent times too.

That night, I looked at lots of the pictures. The next day, I wrote this Advent poem about the missing ingredient.


A Sad Advent Poem

Ever wonder why so many people around the world look so sad. Like when you see their pictures in National Geographic? What in the world is missing?

If there is no joy, if there are no smiles, what's causing it?

Who can give true joy in the first place?

Only God.

This Advent poem shows that life without God is miserable, if not downright cruel. Sin is bondage, the devils keep us in bondage, everything is hard without the grace of God.

The world needs deliverance. We need a Savior.

For those of us who want to get deeper into the spirit and meaning of Advent - and feel what a sad, lost, and angry world is like without Christ - this Advent poem makes an excellent meditation, a pause for reflection.

A lost world can't figure out the spiritual joy and energy we can possess with the right connections. How truly blessed we are!

Thank your stars!


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