Desert Mother and Father
(contemplating Holy Family narratives)
With her husband, she
Flees with her child;
They go in the desert way,
If anyone can hurry.
They arrive in pharaohs’
Land, now a Roman colony.
What happens now?
They will live in exile,
Then return to native land,
Moving toward home in
Relative safety. She is
The desert mother, now—
He the desert father.
Child of the wilderness,
He will be taken there
Again, driven by God and
God-made agencies. He
will defeat the devil: after
To home and elsewhere in
The land, nevermore in
Safety. In millennial ages,
Spirit-led parents, not
Attached, will live in
Heathen caves and cells
To mentor the will of God,
To recall in scoured
Understanding and
Legacied devotion—what
This first desert family
Rescued and made real.
March 1, 2016 at 2:50 am
Beautiful and meaningful!
March 1, 2016 at 5:45 pm
Thank you! Something happened yesterday (right now, I can’t remember what) that got me thinking about family.
March 1, 2016 at 4:45 am
Oh! Wow! You made such a beautiful poem about a historical/spiritual event. 🙂
March 1, 2016 at 5:48 pm
Thanks! There’s a beautiful old painting of the Holy Family on their way to live for a time in Egypt. As I recall, Mary and the baby Jesus are resting in the arms of a Sphinx statue (not the one we think about–a much smaller one, still large) that looks to be keeping guard along with Joseph.
March 2, 2016 at 2:49 am
Ooooh! That is why this poem is so vivid.