a carol for a carpenter A stone to be the lintel above the open door, a bed of straw for stable and trampled earth a floor; but wood is for the manger, so patterned, smooth and worn, O, wood is for the cradle where Jesus Christ is born. As seed is for the sower and bread is for the home, so bronze is for the breastplate and all the might of Rome. But wood is for the Craftsman by whom the world was made, O, wood is for the workshop where Jesus learned his trade. A colt to be his charger and palms for glory now, a reed shall be for sceptre and thorn upon his brow; but wood is for the crosses against a darkened sky, O, wood and nails together when Jesus came to die. With wood to work our ransom he mastered death and grave; the gates of heaven opened on all he came to save: a tree of life unfading beyond our mortal pains, whose leaves are for our healing where Jesus lives and reigns.