Virgin Mary from Garden Dreams by Aaron Marcus

Her favorite figurine
now a sad pile of broken
blue-and-white porcelain
heaped on the counter
and my wife implores a
resurrection be performed
by me
a simple Jew
armed only with Super Glue
and trepidation
but setting mind and jaw
squarely to the task
of all mankind
I do manage restoring
her slightly-cracked
sly smile
to its proper place
the same smile
that smashed me open
more than thirty years ago
still thrilling in random glances
over a sandwich or pillow
and though we’ve been broken
a few times as may happen
to most things brittle
when hit by something hard
the scattered china
always beckons us
to the bare floor
on bent knees
searching eye-to-eye
under chair and table
for the missing piece
with jagged hands
sparkling blue-and-white
and soft in prayer

• New England
• Traditional English folk
• World
• contra dance
• poetry and music
• scandinavian folk
• Vermont