by Christine Valters Paintner
She treasures their golden gift,
mixing herbs to make medicine
for sisters with coughs,
guests with aches,
even the itchy Abbey dog.
She measures carefully
not wasting a drop,
each spoonful labor of hours,
her bees love her too,
she always leaves plenty
for them when she gathers
purple heads of clover,
yellow dandelion faces,
yarrow’s tiny white blooms,
she does not need to reach,
just waits for wind
to bend blossoms toward her,
accepts their offering with thanks,
marvels each summer day
how quickly the plants grow
as if gulping down moonlight
all night, morning dew
offers another elixir.
One quiet day cattle rustlers
come and Gobnait nods
to her buzzing friends
who quickly swarm and sting,
swiftly restore the sanctuary,
then return to savor sweetness
hiding under each petal
for those who know where to look.
Christine Valters Paintner is a Benedictine oblate living in Galway, Ireland with her husband where they lead pilgrimages to sacred places. She is the author of twelve books of nonfiction on contemplative practice and the arts and her poems have been published in journals in the U.S. and Ireland including Tiferet, Anchor, Presence, Spiritus, and U.S. Catholic. Her first collection of poems, Dreaming of Stones, was published by Paraclete Press. Her latest poetry collection is “The Wisdom of Wild Grace” from Paraclete Press. You can find more of her writing and poetry at AbbeyoftheArts.com.