To Say The Beautiful Thing

to say the beautiful thing within reason:
to say it for its own sake
so that Light may shine

into somber corners in the great cathedrals
of blessed memory;
in the unlit portion of the house

where the steeples came down
where we try to live beyond

the color of the soul that is cold in winter
where the snow doesn't melt until summer
and then we are parched and ask water,

living water to go on
to whisper the beautiful thing

days without number not for credit or fame
only to keep the blessed names alive.

mary angela douglas 2 june 2020