Since I haven't written in some time and I'm leaving for Florida soon, I will just share a poem I wrote way back in high school that has everything to do with Holy Week.
The Vigil
A woman stands beside the cross
Her beautiful serene eyes are glistening with tears
Her rose-tinted skin is now almost transparently white with grief
Her glorious mass of shining chestnut hair
Has tumbled over her shoulders
Now shaking with her silent weeping.
She raises her head toward the figure hanging on the cross
And as she looks at Him, a dagger pierces her soul
The Man hanging on the Cross is her only son
She is filled with anguish, pain and sorrow
But, helpless to do anything for Him.
There is a woman beside her sharing her sorrow
A woman called Mary of Magdala.
A group of soldiers are gambling for His seamless robe
Which she made for Him, so long ago.
The sky has suddenly become dark.
Lightning and thunder break through the unearthly stillness
With an angry force
And the woman hears a voice she knows to be her son’s murmur….
“Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit.”
And a soldier exclaims in terror and wonder…..
“Truly, this is the Son of God.”
A soft drizzle begins to fall
As two men take the Savior off the cross
And they lay Him in His mother’s arms.
There is still great sorrow and pain in her heart
But, she is also happy.
That He is rid of His suffering and agony.
His hands still bear
The marks where the nails had been cruelly driven into
Those divine hands
Which had caressed her cheek as a babe,
Had helped His father at work
Had healed the sick, the blind and the lame
And had changed bread and wine
Into His own Body and Blood.
The people had demanded the death
Of her Divine Son
This innocent Man
Lying in her arms now
Who had come down to earth
To save man from his sins
Their God and Creator
Who had brought the message of…
Love your neighbor as yourselves.
She thinks about this as she lays Him in the tomb
And she weeps again
But this time, for those who have denied Him
Hoping they will find Him again.
And as she walks down the path, away from the tomb,
We see a Queen, a Mother, a Saint, an Angel
And her name is MARY.
Happy Easter yet again all and I will write when I'm settled in Florida with my laptop and everything connected and running.
About Me
- Lea
- Brooklyn, New York, United States
- I was born in a Japanese concentration camp in Los Baños, Laguna in 1944 and raised in Manila. I spent my grade school years in Maryknoll College and high school years at St. Paul's College of Manila. I spent most of my summer leisure time at the Army Navy Club of Manila. I married a nice American man in 1965 and moved to New York. In 1969, I left New York for Barcelona and lived there 8 years. I returned to the States in 1977 and lived there until 2011. I visit Manila and Barcelona as often as I can. I have a lovely daughter and granddaughter.My father, Hal Bowie, died in Manila in 1974, and my mother, who moved back to Barcelona after his death, died in 1995. I retired from Polytechnic University (now NYU-Poly)in 2011 after 27 years! After moving to Florida I returned to NY after 8 years and now am living again in my first home in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.
