How far is it to Bethlehem?

Start the day with a poem. "G.K. Chesterton’s beloved wife, Frances, had a special devotion to the Nativity. It was Frances, not Gilbert, who wrote the original poems for the Christmas cards they would send to their friends each year. Her lovely poem, “How Far Is It to Bethlehem?” has been set to music by several different composers."

How far is it to Bethlehem? Not very far.
Shall we find the stable room lit by a star?
Can we see the little child, is he within?
If we lift the wooden latch may we go in?
May we stroke the creatures there, ox, ass, or sheep?
May we peep like them and see Jesus asleep?
Great kings have precious gifts, and we have naught,
Little smiles and tears are all we brought.
For all weary children Mary must weep,
Then here, on his bed of straw, sleep, children, sleep.
God in his mother’s arms, babes in the byre,
They sleep as they sleep who find their heart’s desire.