Slovak ladies in black babushkas
their men in black fedoras
black beads touched by fingertips ..
prayers sent up from fluttering lips
………. Svätá Mária, Matka Božia, pros za nás
………. hriešnych teraz i v hodinu smrti našej, Amen
byzantine bigtop’s
gold proscenium
in its resounding box
of incense and incantations
echo the 1st millennium
alter boys and priests
shift here and there
bend and turn
make signs with hands
dance like candle wicks
but crisp and cool
they scratch
an itch
grandpa, his stone cathedral
staunch and hoary
gentle big-bosomed grandma,
her eternal rosary,
all murmur in
old Sunday’s glory:
a synod’s take
on what was meant—
not his teaching, but
their priestly Blessed
Sacrament
…………………..
Jim Culleny
April 14, 2006
……………………….
Blink 