Fifteenth Night of Shabaan

A ball of mercury
slides down an incline into a pool

reflecting all the starry heavens
making a whispery inaudible splash

A planet dislodges from its orbit and
wobbles out of tune with its

moons and asteroids following suit
and for a millennia or two a tiny

corner of the universe is in
disarray shivering in disquietude

unfelt by all earthly beings except perhaps
the poisonous tree frog

In a corner of our world
behind a broken sun-baked adobe wall

an extraordinary baby is born
whose exemplary life will inspire

even the plants to grow more generously
and in more profuse abundance

actually felt by a distant galaxy
that to us is just a number with

no name though the baby’s name
indicates an infinite number of Grace

(not the baby Jesus peace be upon him
but a contemporary saintly one

known by only a handful as a
paragon of purity who

lives his entire lifetime for
everyone but himself)

on this night O God Your granting forgiveness
for all mistakes big and small

I’ve inflicted on myself and others
now and forevermore

hoping expectantly for absolution by You and
by everyone whose failings of mine have caused harm

as the mercury sphere descends into its
shimmering original element

and distant-most stars audibly
twinkle in this nearest-most cardiac

element of light

8/7/2009 (from Stretched Out on Amethysts)

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