This Manger’s Well Made (Stable Talk)
‘This manger’s well made’,
said Joseph to Mary,
‘Its joints are a joy
to a carpenter’s eye’.
‘I hope that our son
will be skilled with timber,
so neighbours we serve
will be e’er satisfied.
‘Oh Joseph love,
you are so wise and good.
yet our son will, perhaps,
work with far more than wood.’
‘That crook there is shaped
with skill and perception;
‘tis made for a shepherd
who’ll both dare and save’.
‘I’ll show our son how
sheep are protected,
so shepherds will ask him,
to shape them good staves.
Oh Joseph love etc
‘This yoke is a work
of marvellous honing.
It never will chafe:
the ox scarce need a goad.
Our son must learn ways
of both beast and ploughman,
then contour his yokes
to ease burdensome loads’.
Oh Joseph love etc.
‘I‘ll teach him the strengths,
Of timber, dear Mary,
show him all the things
he must and must not do’.
‘Like ne’er make a cross
for fierce Roman soldiers,
Nor sell them our wood
To hang slave, thief or Jew.’
‘Oh Joseph love,
you are so wise and good.
Yes, our son when time comes
Will be smitten by wood.