The Sand Hill Review http://www.sandhillreview.org 2005

Indwelling

—for K-G

The challenge was to write a sestina about the spirit

called out as paraclete, using form to define holy.

Like holding on to air or giving shape to soul,

the mission came with intrigue, requiring grace

from the Muse. I sat still, awaiting some gift

but then put pen to pad to see if I could help.

The arrangement of words on the page helped

thoughts flow: nothing captures spirit

more than art – music, writing, painting – a gift

from God some say of talent, not wholly

owned by the artist. As a child, we said grace

before each meal. Is that the moment when our soul

was fed, before our bodies? Do we nourish our soul

when we nourish ourselves? We needed help

to eat when young, to hold a fork, to not race

through meals while envisioning dessert with a lifted spirit.

St. Paul taught charity of God is poured forth by the Holy

Ghost, given to us in our hearts. And so perhaps the gift

dwells in our bodies yet needs to be slowly given

out to be complete. Like not rushing toward that sole

desire, dessert. Receiving comfort is a whole

process that we must learn as we age. Open to help

when we’re born, we close ourselves up, lock spirit

tight behind flesh walls until the grace

period is past. But the dweller remains in place,

knocking at the heart until it can’t refuse the gift.

Turn this way, the wind calls, hiding its spirit

under leaves and in the smile of one who captures your soul.

Now, create a definition of love for your own help

files, based on experience. Whether the form is Holy

Ghost, a white dove, or the whisper of a lover who holds

you close when you most need it – it resides in the space

between your hands when you say grace, ask for help,

praise the morning or the egrets who have just gifted

you with their curtain of flight, signaling night’s soul

to encompass the landscape, an exchange of spirit.

Go to the side of one you love to find whole breath, discover how a gift

can be a simple gesture of grace. Accept kindness, food for the soul.

For when a hand reaches out somewhere to help, another poet identifies spirit.

Janice Dabney