Prayer Shawl

Prayer Shawl When summer nights are christened With chanting crickets – Last of their summer season song - Rolling fields of ripening wheat - east of the mountains - Revisit my mind; I picture a young woman – suitcase in hand – Walking away – not looking back – Face toward a city by the Sound Leaving fields in echoes of youth On a journey of one thousand miles. I walked the journey that she walked, Suitcase in hand, The solitary path That knew the touch of her footsteps But came from forests evergreen To hear her crickets Chant the same symphonies Abiding in a new home Bounded by the ocean’s roar And golden foothills. She – my Naomi; I, her Ruth Embraced upon the crossroads, Sharing secrets of strawberries Made into sweet jam; Where she went I followed, Not always in agreement, As we gleaned new amber fields Of poppies arm in arm. To my sorrowing, The time When she would again journey In footsteps I could not walk Whispered An approaching call – A bugle With its plaintive sound Left an echo in her dreams. One last gift – A shawl of comfort For the chill of autumn days - To remember journeys - Summer warmth passing, Yellow colored as the spring Her favorite Knit in a loving circle By words of prayer - Joined in loops of affection The time to part Came quietly Amid December’s celebrations; On a still Noel night She left – no suitcase in hand – Covered just before she embarked By my shawl knit with blessings - All dressed up in prayer - To be embraced by eternity In sunshine yellow hues. No one Should journey Back to the eternal Without a yellow prayer shawl.