Hodegetria receives a visitation
A bird came to see me, eyes glittering
with light from many thousands of years ago
It perched on the flowering plum tree
held me in its gaze
Take up your cross, sweet your burden
to bear, in which heaven and earth shimmer like heat waves in the desert
Take up the tree
of life—it cannot move without your movement
Carry her
You know the way
How will I know
it’s Her?
Her voice will be like what anyone can hear but no one can say
in the Dawnland, praying by the sea
she may be found
with her head in her hands.