A Meditation on the Meaning of Birth | A collaborative art and poetry experience

The Lady holds me

Inside her body.

She is, at everywhere, a song better felt than heard:

Under every noise and syncopation,

Her oceanic resonance drones

Like a cello

In low and throaty vibrations.

They fall like dew upon my head.

I come into light.

They push up warmly through her breast.

She is like the earth for me –woman is–

And my body flourishes like the grass.

-Marian Devotion, poem by Fr. Joseph Michael, CFR

In July 2022, Fr. Joseph Michael and I hosted an evening of poetry reading and art viewing for a small group in the Gabriel Gallery (Annunciation Church, West Harlem). This work was inspired by our own meditations on the meaning of birth, a theme that has been profound in prayer for both of us. This was a special evening and a preview of sorts for more possible works to come.

photos: Edwin Lucero @earthlylynx