Jesus looks down at my family
\nfrom the wall.
\nJesus with an Anglo-Saxon face.
\nDelicate hands raised
\nlike a woman\u2019s, hushing us.
\nThe icon of a heart on his breast,
\nan evening in the history
\nof our catastrophes,
\na shaman putting his life
\non a plate,
\nthe nourishment of his teachings.
\nOur lives redeemed by the kindness
\nof a faceless God.
\nOur lives staring in the underbrush
\nfrom their bright childhoods.<\/p>\n
Your face is human,
\ngood enough for me.
\nYour words repeat
\nover and over
\nthe need to know
\nhow much we are loved,
\nhow precious our lives,
\nhow huge the arms
\nthat hold the sparrows,
\nadored in its arms.
\nAnd how our prayers
\nare cherished word for word,
\nright or not,
\nthen quenched
\nwhen we have reached
\nthe silence
\nat the bottom of our hearts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jesus looks down at my family from the wall. Jesus with an Anglo-Saxon face. Delicate hands raised like a woman\u2019s, hushing us. The icon of…<\/p>\n