STANZA 1
In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, 
earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone; 
snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, 
in the bleak midwinter, long ago.

STANZA 2
Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain; 
heav’n and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign; 
in the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed 
the Lord God incarnate, Jesus Christ. 

STANZA 3
Angels and archangels may have gathered there, 
cherubim and seraphim thronged the air; 
but His mother only, in her maiden bliss, 
worshiped the Beloved with a kiss. 

STANZA 4
What can I give Him, poor as I am? 
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; 
if I were a wise man, I would do my part; 
yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

—Christina Georgina Rossetti, 1872