Lo! The Widows Are Dancing

you came to us one day
and enchanted us with tales
of a far away kingdom
that lies beneath our dreams

we listen with rapt attention
as you speak about a fantastic journey
that you promise to bring us all,
which begins at the doorstep of our hearts
and ends at the edge of time

you asked yourself to be welcomed
to our homes and to our tables
which we gladly obliged, knowing
you are just a passing stranger

but you stayed
and told us more,
and shared our pains and joys
our triumphs and tribulations

we in turn told you our secrets
and our vulnerabilities
we told you our longing, our desiring
we shared with you our sweetest dreams
and our most frightening nightmares

and you listen
with rapt attention

until we are completely enamored
and intrigued by your person
of who you really are
and why you do the things you do to us

and late have we realized that you,
that we are completely under your spell
when we pipe in to the mournful
yet sweetest tune of your instrument

and lo! and behold!
even our weeping widows
dance in gleeful abandon
and for the first time in our lives we knew
that you are the pied piper of Jerusalem

---

For Fr. Manol Montesclaros, SJ.
Peninsula de Punta Fuego, Batangas. October 31, 2004.