A Day of Grace

One morning, she came, she saw, and she conquered

Not aggressively nor arrogantly

Instead, with promise, nonviolence and acceptance

Grace approached a small group of women

Gently and calmly, but they were scared of her

Who was this haggard one, this homeless urchin?

They scorned and bullied her, she didn’t fit in

They judged her until she was upside down

And all around, she didn’t fight back

She absorbed their hostile and shameful actions

And words, and she became more and more beautiful

In return

Once, they looked at her and she had grown

The head of a mother lion and the tale of a devil

They mocked her again for being so different

Later that day, they noticed she was ailing, in bad health

But, she never acted in any way that was harmful

She was ready for her fate

Still later, a little girl walked by the group, joining them

"Who is this ugly witch?" she asked 

They tried to shield the little girl from the witch's wrath

Instead, Grace picked up the little girl, hugged her gently

And, put her down again softly. She cried tears

For the little girl and her lot in life

Finally, the day was drawing to an end and the group

Moved toward their homes. Grace said good bye and

Flew into the trees, cloaked in black, a crow

"Caw, Caw," she said in her loud, rough voice and

The humans heard the most beautiful singing instead

What amazing music, what elegance and skill!

As she flew from tree to tree, she joined other crows 

And they laughed together, shouting to each other

Knowing that Grace had done some time with humans

"Aren’t human beings terrible?" they asked her

'Don’t they smell bad and act horribly?

No wonder they are all miserable!"

And Grace cawed only a few notes which meant

“They know not what they do”

And she flew off into the heavens above

She also flew toward the darkness below, inside the earth

Where she began breathing peacefully, telling her mother

"I did what you asked me to do, and look what happened"

Mother Earth dropped tears upon her and replied

"You did just as I asked and those humans will reap

Great rewards having been in your presence"

"What about me though? I may lose feathers and my

Beak seems to have cracked because of my time there

How will I recover and heal?"

Mother Earth wrapped her arms around Grace

Held her closely for a long time and said

"You are with me now, safe and glowing with energy

Now, you get to rest, you have done your duty

You have offered another way to these humans

Now, breathe in the peace which passeth all understanding"

May it be so