Saying the Rosary

Here's a poem from my 2010 book  Digging for God :

 

Saying the Rosary

 

I used to say it on St. Paul Street

In bed, to go to sleep,

That small brown rosary

From the souvenir store at the catacombs in Rome…

Cecilia lying on her side, her hair swept back,

the slice in her neck..

How I used to fall asleep saying it,

lying on that sofa bed in the octagonal living room,

In my light night gown,

With the traffic pouring by outside,

And the window fan on,

In the heat of the summer night,

Praying to be spared from robbers

And rapists,

Praying for sleep

To pull me quickly and safely to the morning.

And he filled me with a song I never sang,

A rose I never saw,

Waves too distant for birds.