Magnificat

Photo by Saint John's Seminary on Unsplash

A Poem by Kimberly Phinney

After Luke 1:46-55

I ponder you

and the tiny nativity

nestled in your womb—

long before the world knew

your Savior Son.

I marvel at how you

heard the news

and praised the Lord

with your song,

so sweet—

long before you could grasp

the task that was set before you.

I wonder at how you

moved through the desert,

swollen with life

and a head full of stars

beneath a quilt of hope—

that was the night sky—

as you searched for a hiding place

to deliver your Prince of Peace—

long before you had any certainties

but your sturdy faith.

I can’t fathom how you

held your baby to your breast

and raised him as your child

in all the ordinary days—

that were only yours to keep—

and yet found a million ways 

to be brave—

all the while knowing

you would have to let him go,

let him go,

let him go—

so he could die

to save us

all.

Kimberly Phinney is a writer, professor, and counselor. She’s been published in Christianity Today, Ekstasis, Fathom, Humana Obscura, Calla Press, and more. She is founder of www.TheWayBack2Ourselves.com. Her poem “Exalted Ground” was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2024 with The Dewdrop. Her poem “An Ode to Hard Dark Nights” won the Audience Choice Award in the Bright Wings Poetry Contest with Ekstasis and Makers and Mystics in 2024. And her small collection of poetry from Of Wings and Dirt won runner up in Fathom Magazine’s Poetry Contest in 2023. A doctoral candidate in community care and counseling, Kimberly holds an M.Ed. in English and studied at Goddard’s Creative Writing MFA program. She was featured on Good Morning America for a national award and teaching through critical illness. Her poetry collection, Of Wings and Dirt, was a bestseller on the Amazon Charts in 2024 for several months. Her second book of poetry, Exalted Ground: Poems of Praise and Lament for the Living, will be published in 2025.