~ The Visitation ~
There is a place, not far from here,
Where oak trees grow on a quiet hill
Just off a road, near rails of steel,
Behind the Lutheran university
A standing stone, they erected there
To honor the founders, and their righteous fear
Of their most Christian God.
Beneath the green-cast plaque of bronze
A mark was set upon the stone
It, too, is dimmed with passing years,
And by scrubbing hand, with thought to clear
Its message from the searching eye
Of any, who might wander by,
While walking upon some different path
And in seeing, perhaps incur the wrath
Of the reigning god of staid and straight Tradition.
One late summer's Sunday afternoon
There came a pilgrim, to the stone
Who read the plaque, and saw the sign,
And thought how both would fade, with time
Then stood a while, beneath the trees,
Where boughs whispered with each passing breeze,
And placed a hand upon an oak
(For to the God of this, he spoke)
And closed his eyes and asked his silent question:
"Are You here?"
As he stood there, near the stone
Within the oak grove, quite alone,
There came the faintest hint of sound
As an acorn fell upon the ground
You think, perhaps, a trumpet would
More likely herald the God of Wood?
Or choirs of angels rend the sky,
And radiant splendors blind the eye?
I tell you, it is a more subtle thing than that.
From across the grove, through rays of sun
A swallow-tailed butterfly did come
Wings beating slowly, with gentle grace,
It flew up to the pilgrim's face
Then thrice around him, in beams of sun,
And then away, toward standing stone
Thus was the pilgrim's answer heard,
Though spoken without a single word
"Open your eyes, and open your heart to love . . .
I am always here!"
G. S. Hargrave, September 5, 1999
Note: I would not wish my references above to the Lutheran or Christian traditions to be an any way misinterpreted, and thought to imply even the least degree of disrespect. They pertain specifically to the wording that appears on the bronze plaque affixed to the standing stone, which was erected during the 1920s. I must confess to a certain sense of irony concerning the symbolism of the stone and its placement in an oak grove, however, and can only wonder if this was in any way intentional.
Whatever the intention might have been, I recognize a sacred space when I see one, and extend my thanks to those who created and who maintain it. When all is said and done, all who follow a sacred path in a spirit of good will are my brothers and sisters, whatever path they travel. Let there always be peace between us!
© 1999 Gregory S Hargrave (Yopo)