Mother Sarai,
tired tears sown on the bedskins beside him
together in long waiting;
moon cycles and seasons
bodies aging
hopes deferred in mourning
inheritances let go in grief
perhaps I, too, would have laughed
having made vows
to seal my heart from further sickness
borne of desires unfulfilled
bitterness taken on as protection
from the piercing knife of fear and doubt
sharper than the shield of faith
still, these assurances:
sand grains, countless
stars, innumerable
a covenant built on these promises
real, the fulfillment
she came in with shouts of joy
bringing her sheaves with her.
Proverbs 13:12; Genesis 22:17, 18:15, 21:3, Psalm 126:6
