4.21.2022

the way the eyes of saints are painted when they are looking up at God

The boy at the far end of the train car 
kept looking behind him 
as if he were afraid or expecting someone 
 
and then she appeared in the glass door 
of the forward car and he rose 
and opened the door and let her in 
 
and she entered the car carrying 
a large black case 
in the unmistakable shape of a cello. 
 
She looked like an angel with a high forehead 
and somber eyes and her hair 
was tied up behind her neck with a black bow. 
 
And because of all that, 
he seemed a little awkward 
in his happiness to see her, 
 
whereas she was simply there, 
perfectly existing as a creature 
with a soft face who played the cello. 
 
And the reason I am writing this 
on the back of a manila envelope 
now that they have left the train together 

is to tell you that when she turned 
to lift the large, delicate cello 
onto the overhead rack, 
 
I saw him looking up at her 
and what she was doing 
the way the eyes of saints are painted 
 
when they are looking up at God 
when he is doing something remarkable, 
something that identifies him as God. 
 
Listen to it here 
 

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