Bread
(Inspired by the movie, Miracle of Marcelino)
Each ascent returned me to the attic where the household had abandoned the crucified figure among dust and broken furniture, as though neglect could diminish the sacred. I never questioned His silence. It resembled waiting. I spoke to Him as one speaks to a friend whose presence requires no reply, and somehow knew I had been heard.
I climbed the stairs carrying a slice of bread. The offering required no faith, only recognition. It seemed impossible that one who had listened so patiently should remain unfed. I held the bread toward Him without hesitation, not as an act of devotion, but as the simplest expression of friendship.
Light entered the carved body. The hand withdrew from nail and timber and reached toward mine. He accepted the bread without surprise, as though we had always known this moment would arrive. Only afterward did I understand that the miracle had begun long before the light.
Michal Mahgerefteh is an ESL poet and visual artist living in Norfolk, Virginia. Her work explores memory, family, faith, grief, and the quiet revelations of ordinary life. She is the author of six poetry chapbooks and the founder of Poetica Magazine. Her poems have appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies.
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