Henry Ossawa Tanner: Annunciation (1898),
Philadelphia Museum of Art
A favorite painting hangs upon my office wall,
Well, just a print, but still, it helps me to recall
The awe and wonder Luke describes in Mary's life
That supersedes restriction that she's not a wife;
The angel Gabriel in bright, amorphous form,
Astonishing his words, this young girl's life transformed.
This news, this "Greetings, favored one! The Lord's with you"
On this Annunciation Day returns anew;
The seed of future grace is promised deep within
Your life, no matter what the strain or strife, or sin
That seems to make impossible such future birth -
It's planted by the One who made the heav'n and earth!
Be not afraid, O favored one, some work and pain
Ahead will yield the joy expectant love contains;
This bathrobed Mary, who, upon her bed now sits,
Is you! - the one to whom, in love, our God commits.
Scott L. Barton
(with thanks to Steve Garnaas-Holmes (www.unfoldinglight.net) for inspiration for this poem, especially the phrase, "the seed of future grace."
No comments:
Post a Comment