Presentation at the Temple

They traveled with care as there may have been brigands and thieves

along those few uphill miles between
the House of Bread and the City of Peace.
Cautiously the Virgin mother and the Silent father
carried their boy to his presentation
to the Lord at the Temple of his presence.

            Did they know they carried in their arms
                        the rising sun; a light of revelation and of glory?

There in the Temple old Simeon, the God-Receiver,
waited for his release on the steps of
the outer courts; watching, he scanned the vacant
faces of the crowd for the One who would bring consolation,
and comfort, comfort for a people who had lived
in darkness, and the shadow as dark as death.

            He recognized the bundle in his arms as
                        the divisive destiny maker, the stumbling stone for many.

Anna, too, the withering widow in the Court of Women,
a prophetess from the tribe of Asher,
praying and fasting for these many years
arriving just at that moment for her daily service
saw the child and heard the old man’s song;
she realized that her deliverance had come.

            Unrestrained she dashed through the Temple courts
                        shouting fearlessly to all who would hear, “Here is your God.”

(2007)