In memory of Angelina P. "Nonni" Leone (1922-2014)
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| Bee in moonflower |
In one swift
stroke
The sharp
scalpel of sudden loss
Slices away
soul calluses,
Exposing
quick and tender heart beneath.
Laughter and
tears alike
Bubble over
more quickly now,
And keenly.
Her glad
tidings, his courageous witness,
Every family
celebration,
New thorn of
affliction,
Persistent pierce
of the old
That had
become normal—
All sting as
they prod
That raw
place
Left by
loved one lost.
Each “first”
passes with wistful weeping
And the ache
of remembrance.
Slowly, inscrutably,
The soul
accrues fresh calluses
To shelter
the quick and tender heart
From the
vicissitudes of postlapsarian life,
Until the
scalpel strikes again,
Until the
woman’s Seed shatters it in pieces
And wipes
away all tears,
Our hearts
made whole.
The long
night shortens.
Soon we
shall weep no more.
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| Young cardinal, Nonni's favorite bird |
