To Use These Hands. . . .

As dawn breaks, my fingers of both hands curl about each other and I marvel at their slimness, their ability to elicit the feel of themselves, each digit wrapped around the other.

And I think that nothing, no other world will ever make me feel such blessedness as my hands’ ability to do so many things over the course of this life.   To kneading bread,   to winding the yarn,  to smoothing the brow of my very sick child and have him tell me later that it helped him sleep. Everything I touch holds a lesson for me.

The square inch of soil I spooned with young hands yielded secrets kept from generations. The eyes of a child as my hands embrace young shoulders tells me what went into their ancient heritage. And I grasp their hands in mine and convey my love by touch.

I would use these hands to mold and make and set trends never before thought. I see the beauty of the great god in the blending of these human genes and  see  the   perfect Adam  and perfect Eve emerging  and   see  the virtue in the making and the doing of the homely tasks that will start the holy process once again.

And I will open my arms and spread my hands  to grasp the youngest by my hip and be grateful for hands that show  how very much I  love on this planet called Earth.

art by Claudia Hallissey