A Poem -- courtesy of my sister

Martha sent me this:

Serenity
(after a session of chemotherapy)

Beyond the window there
three trees -- two maples and a fir,
a patch of grass, a honeysuckle
bush not yet in bloom.

They are doing their great work:
anchoring the earth and breathing in
and out to give a great gift to the air.

In here I share the silence that is theirs.
I light a pure white candle
and let it, too, proceed
to do its work: to shine in silence,
gather peace for me
in its soft radiance
from all four corners of the room.

I make a cup of tea and break
a wondrous scone
a friend has made.

In silence, too, I have my work
to do. Breate in, breathe
out, ask blessings on my body's earth,
and ask for grace to give my own give
back to the holy air.


-- Sr. Eileen Lomansney, CSJ Ballston Lake, NY