John Alford .
A
short
while
ago
I
was
sore
stricken
in
the
long
and
insistent battle .
But
she
in
her mercy
tended me.
She washed
my
wounds with
the waters
of
evening ,
Tending
them
with
touches
as soft
as
the
breath
of
the
south
wind .
She
healed
them
with
ointments
distilled
from
the
She heavent of the stars.eturned to thebasic of her
And
in
the morning
I
returned
to the battle ,
Glorifying
night with
praises
of
the
magic
of
her
healing .
Yesterday
I was troubled
with
the words
of
men ,
For
they
had
denied
the
beauty
and
the
sanctity
of
all
things
.
They
had
broken
the
faith
with
the
universal
spirit
,
Saying
that nothing
is
save
themselves
only
,
that
are
unworthy
,
more
than
I
even
,
of
the knowledge
and love
of
night
.
And
,
sore
distressed
,
I
listened
for
her
in
the
time
of
the great stillness
,
and
was not
disappointed
.
She came
to
me
as
a
prophet
to
a
stricken
people
,
And
her
voice
I
heard
vibrating
from
one wall
of
the darkness
to
the
other
,
Crying
“I
am,
I
am
.”