The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia

words. . .
uttered in jest
or scorn,
in anger
or in hate,
words. . .
like knives
that cut the heart
and scar the mind,
words. . .
that cripple being,
paralyze what might become.

The Word. . .
Utterance of the God-Who-Is,
culling into being
god-within
my crippled, shredded heart,
whispering into wholeness
the contradiction that I am,
singing deep within my soul,
in Wisdom's gentle
words,
the love song of a God.

The Word. . .
Who plays upon the words
of jest and scorn,
of anger and of hate,
harmonizing all with
reconciling
love
into the canticle
of what can be.