Christ’s Nativity

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  "title": "Christ’s Nativity",
  "author": "Henry Vaughan",
  "publisher_label": "Ririro",
  "source_version": "unknown",
  "content_type": "poem",
  "language": "en",
  "summary": "\"Christ's Nativity\" by Henry Vaughan is a devotional poem that opens with a joyful call to waken and celebrate the birth of a King — yet quickly turns inward. The speaker longs to be a bird or star, something pure enough to offer worthy praise, before confessing a darker truth: his own heart feels too filthy to welcome the divine. The poem's emotional power lies in this tension between radiant creation rejoicing freely and a soul that can only plead, humbly, to be made clean.",
  "body": [
    "Awake, glad heart! get up and sing! It is the birth-day of thy King. Awake! awake! The Sun doth shake Light from his locks, and all the way Breathing perfumes, doth spice the day.",
    "Awake, awake! hark how th’ wood rings; Winds whisper, and the busy springs A concert make; Awake! awake! Man is their high-priest, and should rise To offer up the sacrifice.",
    "I would I were some bird, or star, Flutt’ring in woods, or lifted far Above this inn And road of sin! Then either star or bird should be Shining or singing still to thee.",
    "I would I had in my best part Fit rooms for thee! or that my heart Were so clean as Thy manger was! But I am all filth, and obscene; Yet, if thou wilt, thou canst make clean.",
    "Sweet Jesu! will then. Let no more This leper haunt and soil thy door! Cure him, ease him, O release him! And let once more, by mystic birth, The Lord of life be born in earth."
  ],
  "body_text": "Awake, glad heart! get up and sing! It is the birth-day of thy King. Awake! awake! The Sun doth shake Light from his locks, and all the way Breathing perfumes, doth spice the day.\n\nAwake, awake! hark how th’ wood rings; Winds whisper, and the busy springs A concert make; Awake! awake! Man is their high-priest, and should rise To offer up the sacrifice.\n\nI would I were some bird, or star, Flutt’ring in woods, or lifted far Above this inn And road of sin! Then either star or bird should be Shining or singing still to thee.\n\nI would I had in my best part Fit rooms for thee! or that my heart Were so clean as Thy manger was! But I am all filth, and obscene; Yet, if thou wilt, thou canst make clean.\n\nSweet Jesu! will then. Let no more This leper haunt and soil thy door! Cure him, ease him, O release him! And let once more, by mystic birth, The Lord of life be born in earth.",
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  "scraped_at": "2026-05-07T12:26:14+00:00"
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