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22 December 2014

Advent (for Camilla and Beatrice)

A new poem by the Poet Laureate.

By Carol Ann Duffy

One last, silvered leaf fails to fall
from its tree. A hard year’s winter
has frozen your voice.

                            You would still rejoice
if you could sing, in your listening church –
where candles thrill to their endings,
light’s brave lovers – gold carols
this dark Advent;
                     the hurt heart harkening:

Lo! He comes with clouds descending.

But there is the descant moon
over our scarred world, its cold, pure breve,
and you will sing to your child
                                  on Christmas Eve.

 

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“Advent” appears in The Twelve Poems of Christmas: Volume Six, selected by Carol Ann Duffy (Candlestick Press, £4.95).

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Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
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