The sadness of these days was in his voice
(The Scripture’s shadows weren’t to be diffused).
Some days you can’t tell people to rejoice:
They’re sitting masked and distanced in the pews
And everyone’s been watching too much news.
But then the sadness slowly turned to hope:
Not saccharine, not dull with hollow cheer;
Not offered as a tip on how to cope.
But as the grace to which we must adhere
When sensing that the Cross is very near.
Jeffrey Essmann is an essayist and poet living in New York. His work has appeared in numerous magazines and literary journals, among them America Magazine, Dappled Things, the St. Austin Review and The Road Not Taken. He is a Benedictine oblate of Mt. Saviour Monastery.