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Julian of Norwich in Her Sick Bed

The stone walls stay cool on this late summer afternoon.
Bushels of golden apple light tumble through my small window,
casting a yellow square on the floor
which shifts slowly all day like a tired pilgrim.
The tabby cat places herself into this warm glow,
sighing each hour as she rises again to follow its journey.

A breeze rustles in and I gulp down autumn’s early arrival
like being under a waterfall.
All day I watch the sun travel, the cat shift,
the snail who makes its way up my wall leaving a trail
like the tears that streak my face into a map of desire.

At night I dream I can fly, slip out the window into the dark liquid sky,
feel the night lift me onto her back like a wave cresting
and I am suddenly more than these frozen limbs,
I can taste the stars, flakes of sea salt sprinkled across black silk.

The moon opens her wide mouth as if to sing,
then swallows me, takes me inside her
until I know myself as one who waxes and wanes, who shines brightly
and sometimes disappears into darkness.

*By Christine Valters Paintner from the collection "Love Holds You: Poems and Devotions for Times of Uncertainty" published by Paraclete Press.

credits

from Sound and Stillness II: An audio collection of poems by Christine Valters Paintner, released December 14, 2022
By Christine Valters Paintner from the collection "Love Holds You: Poems and Devotions for Times of Uncertainty" published by Paraclete Press.

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Abbey of the Arts Galway, Ireland

Abbey of the Arts, in partnership with The Dancing Word, produces albums to inspire soulful connection to ancient monks and mystics, to Celtic practice and tradition, to the sacred feminine, and to Earth and her creatures.

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