The Woman of Purple – poem by Ellen Jane Powers

The Woman of Purple
[Lydia], a dealer in purple cloth, who worshipped God, and the Lord opened her heart to hear…
Acts 16:14

It wasn’t only that the rock snails illuminated
the gardens with their slimy trails,
nor that they slugged through the night
in barely audible streams,
it was that they had within them
the glory of uncommon color—
as if they were reciting verses of praise
each evening.  Stars guarding
heaven come so close, that I can hear
their burning sparks and smell
the incense of wonder. Those snails!
With salt and morning dew, I dip
linen and wool, and let the day
deepen their countenance—
a cloudburst sunset, my heart bruising
my skin, tonight I hear the song of snails.

Ellen Jane Powers lives on the North Shore of Boston. Her life and career have taken many twists and turns, but she’s not strayed from pursuing Spirit. She spent 12 years on the editorial review board of a small literary journal from Maine. Her poems have appeared in a variety of journals and in two collections of poetry, Celestial Navigation (Cherry Grove) and Toward the Beloved (Finishing Line).