The Barn at the Homestead

The Barn at the Homestead

Friday, January 17, 2014

Headcovering part two

The book was on the shelf; I'd received it as an ordination gift.  Never read it--just sat there, until a colleague used it for an opening meditation at a recent meeting.  Later, after a long week, I took the book from the shelf and thumbed my way through--finally resting on and savoring on a meditation/poem.  The book is called Prisms of the Soul: Writings from a Sisterhood of Faith, edited by Marcy Darin.  I believe it is out of print now (1996); but worth the trouble to find a used copy.

It was the poem by Patricia Flower Vermillion that caught my eye; in her poem "Learning to Make Easter Bread" I caught a glimpse of the woman I aspire to be.  A line in her poem struck me deeply,

I don't understand
this old woman who listens
to Puccini, wears black stockings
and aprons, covers her head
with cotton scarves
tied at the nape of her neck.

The woman signs herself before risen dough and braids three strands into one.  And the poet says she dances!  She dances (does she also have a tambourine--remember Miriam!)

How many years will it take
how many do I have,
to learn to sing Puccini
and to dance, to dance?

Thank you, Patricia Flower Vermillion!  I hope to wear  black stockings and aprons and cover my head with cotton scarves (as I explore headcovering), and yes . . . I hope to dance--and learn more about Puccini as I journey with Jesus!