First, descent

It is not the convent or the monastery

that owns the concepts of holiness

and repose, of centeredness

and calm, instead it is the home,

the home where the maid sets aside

the broom, the bucket, shows

kindness to a child, where the mother

stands at the doorway, looks outward

in serenity no matter what anxiety she

experiences, waits for a return

that may not come but she believes

so it will come and she knows descent

must precede ascent because that

is how it was done in three days.

Painting: The Courtyard of a House in Delft, by Pieter de Hooch (1658), National Gallery of Art, London.