%1

The other annunciation

 

What if there was another girl
To whom the angel did not come,
One who said, every day, “I am ready.”
She woke, she dressed, she went to the well
to draw water.

Still no flutter of wings
No gifts delivered in the dark.
No sudden lights.
Just ordinary grit and labor.

She knew the stories—Samuel, Miriam.
The power of, “Here I am.”
She wiped sleep from her eyes.
Readied the day. Waited.

Idling for one minute only

 

Here is a sign that surely reflects
the Puritan heritage of our college.

For though it is meant for the coaches

that pull up to the curb, disbursing
limbs of basketball players

who loiter at the back of the gym,

I always think it applies to me,
standing here in the new warmth

of the winter sun, watching
 
the first green tips of grass emerge
from the dampness of the ground.