Anna at the Temple

Waiting.
Waiting.
Through the lean stretch of the years,
The thinning of the bones,
The flesh exhausted.

Waiting.
Hope fades, transmutes to prayer,
Prayer faint and regular as breathing,
In the waiting, aching flesh,
A breath that barely flutters,
Yet sustains all life, all thought ..

Waiting.
Waiting.
Beyond patience, into stubbornness.
Believing. What. God. says.
Holding still.
Waiting.

Remembering Sarah.
As the body dries its courses
And finds new ways to sag.
All beauty fled and vanished
Save the one who holds her heart.

Waiting.
Knowing His promise surer
When all history is against it.
Waiting still.

Here, with uplifted eyes
In the very house of prayer
Walking among the symbols of the covenant,
Waiting.
Past caring if this is a woman’s place.
Waiting.
Breathing in, breathing out,
Waiting.

And when He comes
She knows.