In the Kitchen - Kilian McDonnell

            "In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel..." Luke 1:26

Bellini has it wrong.

I was not kneeling

on my satin cushion

quietly at prayer,

head slightly bent.

Painters always

skew the scene,

as though my life

were wrapped in silks,

in temple smells.

Actually I had just

come back from the well;

placing the pitcher on the table

I bumped against the edge,

spilling water on the floor.

As I bent to wipe

it up, there was a light

against the kitchen wall

as though someone had opened

the door to the sun.

Rag in hand,

hair across my face,

I turned to see

who was entering,

unannounced, unasked.

All I saw

was light, white

against the timbers.

I heard a voice

I had never heard.

I heard a greeting,

I was elected,

The Lord was with me,

I pushed back my hair,

stood afraid.

Someone closed the door.

And I dropped the rag.