from 2001
A Blessing From Grandma
by
K W Emert
I sneak in the side door
-a beggar, a thief.
And touch the well
-a moment. Believe.
And bending on knee,
my eyes start low
But travel the length
and distance of time,
Peering aloft through the
arches and gilt
To the splendor that pours
all around from above.
It is too much.
I wend my way back
To the Alcove of Saints
and light a small candle.
My sister's face graces
the one on the left.
A blessing from Grandma
drifts from my lips
And I tiptoe away,
my eyes looking low,
A bend of the knee,
a touch to the well.