“Christmas Night,” a limited edition woodblock print/greeting card
It is so difficult for me to locate well-written Advent poems. A couple years ago I began collecting and posting some of my favorites. The list includes some well known poets as well as some lesser known individuals. As a way to celebrate the season, I offer the 12 days of Advent poetry:
- Day 1 – “Annunciation” by Denise Levertov
- Day 2 – “Advent Calendar” by Rowan Williams
- Day 3 – “Advent” by Donald Hall
- Day 4 – “Mosaic of the Nativity (Serbia, Winter 1993)” by Jane Kenyon
- Day 5 – “The God We Hardly Knew” by Óscar Romero
- Day 6 – “The House of Christmas” by GK Chesterton
- Day 7 – “Into The Darkest Hour” by Madeleine L’Engle
- Day 8 – “The Winter Is Cold, Is Cold” by Madeleine L’Engle
- Day 9 – “Nativity” by John Donne
- Day 10 – “A Christmas Carol” by Christina Georgina Rossetti
- Day 11 – “Mighty Mercy” by John Piper
- Day 12 – “For Christmas Day” by Charles Wesley
Hope you enjoy the list. Let me know of Advent poems that are not listed here.
Coffeehouse Junkie 
“Advent” by W S Beattie is a look at how we misuse Advent today.
Thanks for sharing this. I am unfamiliar with this poem and author. Would you mind sending me a web link or book reference so that I might read it? Thank you!
are you familiar with biola’s annual advent extravaganza: http://ccca.biola.edu/advent/2016/?
image journal also does advent poems as part of #poetryfriday.
Thanks for sharing the Biola Advent web link! I will take a look at it. As well as the Advent poems posted to Image Journal.
To be honest, these are two sources I am vaguely aware of and I had not considered them as resources. I look forward to exploring.
the biola advent posts have a nice range of poems – from hildegard of bingen to blake to luci shaw and more!
they do the same during lent.
I realise this is a very old post, but T.S Eliot wrote a wonderful Christmas poem called the ‘Journey of the Magi’ which provides much food for thought.
Thanks for the comment and suggestion. How could I forget Eliot’s poem? I may have to revisit my “12 Days of Christmas” poetry list and expand it to a “24 Days of Advent” poetry list.
“Making the House Ready for the Lord” by Mary Oliver
Thanks! I enjoy receiving these Advent related poems. Much gratitude!
Pingback: Reflections on a decade of sharing Advent poetry and art | Coffeehouse Junkie
My absolute favorite – This Advent Moon by Christina Rossetti
Thanks for sharing this poem. I plan to update this list of poems with 12 more Advent poems. “This Advent Moon” will be added to the new list. Thanks for sharing! And thanks for reading and commenting. Much gratitude!
Thank you for this wonderful resource! I hope you continue it. One small thing: Advent is the season immediately before 12/25, and the twelve days of Christmas end on January 5th. Of course, there are those who think Christmas should be in April, but that’s another story. Thanks again!
Thanks, Laurie! Glad you enjoyed the collection of poems. And thanks for graciously pointing out the error of the post.
I was not raised in a home that recognized the liturgical calendar. So, when I wrote this post I was quite ignorant of the matter. Each year, for the past decade, I have tried to offer a new selection of poems, reflections, recorded readings and stories, or other interesting items.
But one thing I have neglected to do is correct the mistake regarding the days of Advent and Christmas. Thank you for the gentle reminder. Hope you have a very Merry Christmas!