Why am I here and not there? I am HERE because I have been THERE.   Been there, done it, have the diplomas to prove

God of ages has called me to the Second Mile, To walk with my sisters through the Valley. I pray for the strength and the

Light shines from                 a thousand prisms,                                 hung on golden filigree,                 above the hall below, where sheltered men                 wear sheltering talitot                                

I saw the angels. God’s holy angels. It’s all I used to talk about: Angels and the baby with the tired young mother. It was

Each drop of blood on the road to Golgotha was matched with a thousand tears of mine. I, who held Christmas in my body, saw

I CREATOR/CONQUEROR/COMFORTER   II One God—when no one else—sufficient. One Love, created us, proficient. Our wills, returning love, deficient. One Sacrifice applied, efficient.   III

When I saw my cousin again, I had walked all day, my ankles swollen like my feet. Her bright eyes made my journey worth it.

Jewels come in unexpected settings. Take Corinth in ancient Greece: more rock than mineral. Rocks piled into rude temples to designer gods. Rocks hewn out

The tears of those who love us gently water the cheeks of the earth. Another beautiful bloom turns into a wrinkled seed, they lament. Ah,