Advent – a poem by Lory Widmer Hess

Advent


Bare branch
pale sky
moon over scattered snow

The angel’s imprint 
on empty air 

I strain to catch the echo —
“Fear not!”

Can it be
all this life
is preparation …

For what?

For meeting fear
upright
as a tree
and waiting
to break
into leaf

Lory Widmer Hess is an American currently living with her family in Switzerland. She works with adults with developmental disabilities and is in training as spiritual director. Her writing has been published in Parabola, Heart of Flesh, Solum Journal, Ekstasis, Time of Singing, and other print and online publications. She blogs at enterenchanted.com.