A Poem: Mary’s Assurances

I reach out to Mary, whose hands are warm,
and at first grasp, feel real,

no matter she is a statue
bathed in sun.

I lie down and the sunlight is a balm,
that upon closing my eyes I drift,

thinking how perfectly poised is earth
to hold us in comfort.

And when I am enfolded in the embrace of marriage,
sustained,

I think of the sun,
and Mother Mary hearing our yearnings.

How our children really, are like flowers
with faces uplifted.

Just like my sprouting lettuce in a seed tray,
whose fragile shoots turn full circle to the light.

And when our children appear at a distance,
our warmth will find them responding again

with the vitality of youth.

Ana Lisa de Jong
Living Tree Poetry
February 2023