Monday, March 28, 2011

Day 20, Sonnet 20

Each night before I sleep, I wash my feet

As Jesus washed Apostles’ tender soles:

Baptize them in the cleanliness of heat

And whisper holy words from holy scrolls.

To cleanse the sins that angry feet have held

When stormed away in hasty walks of pain

To pardon when one is by pride propelled

To stroll and take one’s powerful stride in vain.

But mercy, too, does tender washing give

When blisters form from work done to survive

When feet alone give means to eat and live

And weight borne on their soles keeps hopes alive.

And so these toes and tendons do I bathe

And in their groundedness restore my faith.

1 comment:

  1. These are all so marvellous! Amazing work, Lucia!

    Here's a challenge: try something in the Modernist vein...

    Here's my favourite:

    Day slipped out of the web of her fog-wet gown
    and buried her bright face in the pale sheen
    of the maple leaves and pushed her fingers down
    in the damp moss under the deeper green
    of the darkling spruce and found a cool mind
    and turned and looked back through the lucent panes
    of maple leaves at the sky she had left behind
    and traced each pointed leaf and its intricate veins.
    Lying there she shook with a sudden mirth
    and waited awhile without breathing a breath
    and nestled closer into the hollow earth
    and knew a bliss that would have welcomed death,
    knowing she could not deeper drink delight,
    she dreamed there of shadow and of night.

    Kenneth Leslie, By Stubborn Stars, 1938

    ReplyDelete