The Savior

The Savior

When the rain began to fall, he rolled back
into the clouds and slept again.
Still it persisted, beating at every surface,
until it entered his body
as the sound of prolonged
human weeping.

So he was broken.
His first tears dissolved
the mask of white stone.
As they traveled through the bones of his arms,
his strength became a mortal strength
subject to love.

On earth,when he heard the first rain
tap through the olive leaves,
he opened his eyes and stared at his mother.
As his father, who had made the sacrifice,
stood motionless in heaven,
his son cried out to him:

I want no shelter, I deny
the whole configuration.
I hate the weight of earth.
I hate the sound of water.
Ash to ash, you say, but I know different.
I will not stop burning.

Louise Erdrich....from Baptism of Desire