Mater Dolorosa de las Sandias

Pardon the drudgery
my lady,
with which I tell
the beads,
with which I grieve
the decades,
there is no heart,
nor heat, nor hope,
nor water here
to carry me closer
to you.
And so twice
I strike my breast,
and once I chant:
I am ashamed
of my emptiness;

of the scars that hide
of the lines that show.,
I am ashamed
of my purity;

of the lily that isolates

of the flame that seduces.
Yet I sing of the
Maiden that is Makeless;

of the God in her womb

of the sword in her soul.
But all I can see of her today
is the forgiving shadow
cut into the Sandias
burning at sunset;
a lapis stone set in blood.
A sign and teaching
of the
Mater Dolorosa.

November 1990

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• Icons by Fr. William McNichols

• Information on obtaining Icons by Fr. William McNichols

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This page is managed by Fr. Raymond A. Bucko, S.J. of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Creighton University. E-Mail: bucko@creighton.edu Page Last Updated: December 1, 2001

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