The old lady took me to your house
Silent, afraid, and clinging, I went
I went to your house
The somber cavernous echoes rose
Glower of perfidious followers
Vexed me
By the candles in your house

The strange lady took me to your house
Mysterious and calm it was
It was inside your house
The thunderous clap of a thousand floods
A vessel for your flesh and blood
Strangely soothed me
In the nave of your house

The old lady took me to your house
These catacombs, bells droning in D
Like Lourdes, more exotic than here
The elixir pulled from her coat
The holy vial filled and capped with hope
Filled me with tears
In the grotto by your house

The old lady took me to your house
Rosaries, placed upon Mary’s feet
Genuflecting, then requesting I take a seat
“Place hands together and make a wish”
I mimed patty cake as she murmured broken English,
“This for your grandma and the cancer that spread.”
Not knowing back at my house, Grandma was already dead

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