a scrubby hillside, a tiny house, and a weary traveler
picking her way up the dusty path to the threshhold.
she pauses at the door to wipe the journey’s grime away;
shed of its sheen of sweat her face still glows.
elisheva! she calls — God-my-promise-and-abundance.
a shout, a scramble, a clatter of flying feet
and a woman round with child hurtles through the door,
her gray hair and garments flying in excitement.
most beloved of God are you among women, she cries,
and hallowed is the One you enwomb!
and witness this wonder: when i heard your voice
the boy within me leaped and danced with joy!
for how blessed is the woman who believes
that what Yahweh has promised to her He will fulfill.
little mary bittersweet, she of shining eyes,
clasps her cousin to her — wombs colliding — spilling into song.
my innermost being must tell the greatness of the Lord,
and the life within my bones gives praise to He Who is my Savior,
for He has looked down, down, down to see this vessel He has made.
and witness this mystery: to the end of the world
i will be called most wildly blessed, because the God of angel armies
has done glorious things for me — even He of fire and might.
He shows compassion to those who hold Him in reverent awe,
from the beginning of time to the end.
He has shown us His power;
He has scattered the haughty before they could say a word;
He has toppled strong men’s thrones and lifted the lowly from the ashes;
He has satisfied those who hunger with honey and marrow;
He has emptied the hands of those who lacked nothing.
He has raised up His vessel Israel, remembering
the rescue He wrote in the stars for Abraham
and all his children, to the end of the world.
virgin mother and agéd mother looked at each other —
and wept for wonder.
