Once there was an angel<\/p>\n
all strong and fierce and bright<\/p>\n
who lighted by my husband’s bed<\/p>\n
before we were wed..<\/p>\n
in the middle of the night.<\/p>\n
This is what the being said,<\/p>\n
when my husband had awoken,<\/p>\n
because of it’s great light,<\/p>\n
like a fire that won’t consume:<\/p>\n
“You must love her”….<\/p>\n
A message from God<\/p>\n
Who loves His children.<\/p>\n
He had been paralyzed<\/p>\n
until the stately creature left<\/p>\n
and warmth slid over him<\/p>\n
like a blanket, soft and pure.<\/p>\n
When it released him, he was bereft<\/p>\n
for: one does not wish to be left<\/p>\n
by an angel of God.<\/p>\n
But, we were married in the Church<\/p>\n
before the Majesty of He<\/p>\n
Who sets all free<\/p>\n
to love what is right.<\/p>\n
For the tears which coursed down<\/p>\n
my husband’s face that night<\/p>\n
were also due to<\/p>\n
the overwhelming love of God.<\/p>\n
Four years past..<\/p>\n
for children we prayed..<\/p>\n
because to love children is right…<\/p>\n
but not owed.<\/p>\n
So we waited in hope.<\/p>\n
And then, five years wed,<\/p>\n
we bore the fruit of a child.<\/p>\n
God’s love in human form.<\/p>\n
Then, in years to come,<\/p>\n
five more were born.<\/p>\n
Sometimes there are stares<\/p>\n
and whispers..<\/p>\n
“How can you have so many children?”<\/p>\n
They ask, amazed.<\/p>\n
I know not.. for they are not like<\/p>\n
flowers simply plucked from the field<\/p>\n
when we want them, to pretty up our bouquet.<\/p>\n
Lovely it is to behold,<\/p>\n
but they are planted and rooted<\/p>\n
by unseen hands, knit in wonder and awe.<\/p>\n
Gifts from above, they are.<\/p>\n
The tears which overflow course down<\/p>\n
onto little cheeks…<\/p>\n
for endless love is present<\/p>\n
in the form of a child.<\/p>\n
When the strangers whisper and stare,<\/p>\n
sometimes they exclaim:<\/p>\n
“You’re hands are full!”<\/p>\n
I used to bow my head,<\/p>\n
for they tried to shame me.<\/p>\n
But, with age,<\/p>\n
has come grace.<\/p>\n
So now I simply reply:<\/p>\n
“Yes…full of joy!”<\/p>\n
with a smile of sincere<\/p>\n
gratitude to the One Who gives.<\/p>\n
But, sometimes He takes away..<\/p>\n
a sacrifice in this world which<\/p>\n
has forgotten love in human form.<\/p>\n
We have seven children…<\/p>\n
one taken to Heaven by God’s angel,<\/p>\n
who had appeared that night.<\/p>\n
And there are six born..<\/p>\n
but all of them, love in human form..<\/p>\n
a verdant field of rooted flowers,<\/p>\n
colorful and bright.<\/p>\n
For a Saint of Mercy once asked:<\/p>\n
“How can there be too many children?<\/p>\n
That’s like saying there are too many flowers”.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Once there was an angel all strong and fierce and bright who lighted by my husband’s bed before we were wed.. in the middle of the night. This is what the being said, when my husband had awoken, because of it’s great light, like a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":814,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marathon-poem"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/814"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28574"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28574\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28901,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28574\/revisions\/28901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}