St. Mary the Virgin, August 15

AND A SWORD WILL PIERCE YOUR OWN HEART, TOO

Hannah prayed that she might have a son,
Though she was barren. Soon, she had conceived,
(As Eli had foretold, and she'd believed),
and pledged the boy to serve the Holy One.

Hannah sang, "My heart exults in God,
My strength has been exalted in the Lord!
Those who were full have hired themselves for bread;
Those who were hungry have been satisfied!
To the barren, seven have been born;
While she who had many sons is now forlorn.
God raises up the needy from the dust,
And lifts the poor from out of the ash-heap."

And what of the ones left in the trash to sleep
The few hours of their lives in some gray dumpster?
Does the Lord raise up the abandonned, also?
Hannah left Samuel at the shrine at Shiloh,
Gave up her only son to serve the Lord.
Was her heart, also, pierced by Mary's Sword?