If You Want
Saturdays are poem days in “The Dawn From On High” Advent series.
If You Want
If
you want
the Virgin will come walking down the road
pregnant with the holy,
and say,
“I need shelter for the night, please take me inside your heart,
my time is so close.”
Then, under the roof of your soul, you will witness the sublime
intimacy, the divine, the Christ
taking birth
forever,
as she grasps your hand for help, for each of us
is the midwife of God, each of us.
Yet there, under the dome of your being does creation
come into existence eternally, through your womb, dear pilgrim—
the sacred womb in your soul,
as God grasps our arms for help; for each of us is
His beloved servant
never far.
If you want, the Virgin will come walking
down the street pregnant
with Light
and sing
–St. John of the Cross (1542 – 14 December 1591).
Two remarkable things about this poem, by St. John of the Cross–whom most of us know as the one who spoke of “the Dark Night of the Soul.” Notice the power he recognizes in men and women. “If you want”! And notice how first Mary, and then God, reaches for human help. We are not just spectators to the miracle birth–we are midwives to Mary and to the Christ. It’s all happening within “the sacred womb of your soul.” If you want.
David thanks for blessing us everyday this season!
As an artist you’ll understand when I say the blessing has been for ME–the commitment to write each day has forced me into my own soul.
Thanks, David. We just celebrated the poets feast day recently, so I’ve been thinking about him. I’ve got to go back and read some more.
The remarkable thing about this poem, to me this morning, is that I didn’t see the authors name until the end. Until then, I thought it was written in the 21st-century!
A remarkable, truly uplifting shock this morning.
Right. I told Pam the poem for the day was written by a 16th C mystic and she kind of furrowed her brow. Then she read it and said exactly what you just said. But Rumi and Hafez are like that too—they read like moderns.
What a lovely way to begin this day! I had not thought about the part we play in the birthing of Christ. But, of course, we are the ones to make Him know in our time and place.
I, too, had been thinking about John of the Cross since Wednesday’s feast day, but I had never read this poem. Thank you for sharing it with us!
Some say his poems are where his vision is clearest and easiest to grasp, unlike some of his theological writings. Thanks for reading!
Wow this was riveting…my mouth also hung open at the ‘author reveal’! What a beautiful poem. I’m really enjoying this whole series – thank you!
Thanks for reading!