The cow made the
long table for his bride
June
When the first child was born,
and they needed more room
The cow was one of four sons,
and there was too little farm
And the railroad had worked,
so they moved into town
First came
Emmett and
Claire,
William and
Grace
Round the long table they
all took their place
Every year they would gather,
sing carols and hymns
With canned peaches and short
cake and four white grins
But it feels like it's been one long
Christmas dinner
One unending prayer,
one unbroken line
Singing,
Thou my vision, by day or by night
All is calm and all is bright
Eating strawberry jam from
our victory garden
June kept giving
Emmett more food than he wanted
As if she could fill him with
enough food and faith
To last him through
Europe and bring him home safe
Clara moved back at
Christmas with her two children
When her husband ran off with
a girl who was willing
When
Grace's small daughter
offered up her shortcake
Clara leaned on
Will's shoulder and covered her face
But it feels like it's
been one long
Christmas day
One unending prayer,
one unbroken light
Singing, be thou my vision
by day or by night
All is calm and all is bright
Long ago
Emmett came home
Now he carves the ham,
though since then he's needed a leg brace to stand
He and
Grace visit often, help
Mom with yard work
We still can't believe what
they're wearing to church
Cousin
Nan's in
Chicago,
and she stayed good friends
With
Cousin
Rose, who's a painter, and lives in
South
Bend
And
William's boy,
Michael, is a young handsome rope
Cruisin' town with an eight -track up
Abbey
Road
But it feels like it's been one long
Christmas dinner
One blood -ending prayer,
one of unbroken lines
Singin' be thou my vision,
by day or by night
All is calm and all is bright
There've been so many joys
and so many cradles
But there was one who spent
only one year at the table
It must have been
Grandma who gathered her clothes
So she'd have no fear when
they both passed across
So I out the canned peaches,
in honor of
June
And for
Michael's grown daughter,
who's coming home soon
For all that we've lost,
or we haven't found yet
Oh, they'll come to the table
and clasp hands around
And it feels like it's been one long
Christmas dinner
One unending pray er,
one unbroken light
Singing, be
Thou my vision by day or by night
All is calm and all is bright
All is calm and all is bright
you