Sabbath

Chiseled Makeover by

Six a.m.

on the Black River

Hair knotted from a south wind

armed with the spiritual tools of my day

I rest in a rocky pew

an empty vessel

Early for mass

I finger a Fresh Water Pearl rosary

repeat Pater Noster, Pater Noster

contemplate the Glorious Mysteries

with mist all around, nothing but mist

a magic filter of dust and ashes

Ring-billed Gulls

dip, dive, soar

Tease drowsy waves

and ascend to a better destination

The deity who enkindles

their sonorous song

A call to worship

I finger a Fresh Water Pearl rosary

repeat Ave Maria, Ave Maria

contemplate the Glorious Mysteries

with mist all around, nothing but mist

a magic filter of dust and ashes

Canadian Geese

glide in flight

Form the sign of the cross

then honk in jubilation

To compete with the horn

of the Nichols Fleet

Hungry for fish

I finger a Fresh Water Pearl rosary

repeat Gloria Patri, Gloria Patri

contemplate the Glorious Mysteries

with mist all around, nothing but mist

a magic filter of dust and ashes

Harlequin Ducks

decked in resplendent choir robes

Pick up the chorus

while a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

Conducts in plumed vespers

from Lake Michigan's

Open mouth

An orange slice of aurora

peels back storm clouds

I finger a Fresh Water Pearl rosary

repeat Salve Regina, Oremus

Fade to less, grow to more

without words, without thoughts

My cup is full

Linda L. Bielowski, Ph.D.

About The Author

Dr. Linda L. Bielowski is a psychotherapist, board certified pastoral counselor, and university English instructor. She has published a chapbook Spirit Echoes and a full length book of poetry Contemplative Persona. Dr. Bielowski’s work has appeared in an array of journals and anthologies throughout the United States, Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Spain, and India. They include the following: Prairie Poetry, Poetry Magazine, Sentience, Ariga, The Eintouist, Voices Multicultural Poetry, Creative Communication, Penhouseink, and PureChristians, among others. The author spends her leisure time studying the works of monastic Benedictines and of the Catholic Worker Movement [both of which have informed her writing and filled her spiritual well]. The author retreats to Michigan or Iowa, where she walks wilderness scapes and grasslands with three fur persons: Sara Grace, Joshua, and Sedgwick.