For When You’re Sad During Advent

Photo by Jeremy Wong on Unsplash

A Poem by Rosa Lía Gilbert

Find a nook, the crevice of the bone over your heart. 

Build a manger for him there, out of porous wood. 

Hang a stocking on a veiny mantel. 

Say a bold, demanding prayer: 

“Come Lord Jesus. Come here and stay.

You’re not a baby anymore, but I need your birth

to deliver hope in here, this day.”

Rosa Gilbert is a publishing assistant at Calla Press Publishing LLC. Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Spanish is her first language, but it was through learning English that she fell in love with words. Her work has been published at Ekstasis, Clayjar Review, The Way Back to Ourselves, Vessels of Light, Prosetrics Literary Magazine, among others. She lives in Ohio with her husband and daughter. You can find her writing at https://rosagilbert.substack.com/ and @rosagilbertpoetry.