LONG HAVE WE GAZED UPON BEAUTY
And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us.
Psalms 90:17
Stop! commanded our mother, mid-celebration
on the afternoon of that final wedding feast.
Even the leaves of the apple trees hushed
as the breeze halted halfway up the sunlit hillside.
All ceased together and, in silence,
turned to where she stood.
Stop right now and look upon one another!
Is it not written that we become what we behold?
Therefore, behold! And become beautiful
in the eyes of our Lord! Praise Him,
in whose image we are created!
Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us!
Look how beautiful you are! How beautiful
your sisters and your brothers, your husbands
and your wives, your children and grandchildren,
your parents and grandparents! Look!
How beautiful, your aunts, uncles and cousins!
Behold your beautiful friends!
Stop now, and look upon one another.
Look upon all that God has created.
Look deep and hard and long at Beauty.
Drink her into your very being.
Claim her as your possession.
Hold what you see in your hearts.
We turned, and we did look upon one another,
according to her counsel, and in turn, we turned
and looked upon the bride and her shining groom.
We saw as the mothers down through the ages
had taught us to see, and we feasted
upon all we beheld as though it were bread.
And we gazed upon our beautiful mother,
and she said: Thousands of years from now,
when people say, How beautiful your children are!
tell them to teach the children to speak
as I have spoken. Teach the children to say:
Stop, and look upon one another!
©2009 Caron McCloud
http://www.caronmccloud
For long have we gazed upon Beauty.
