Sin Eater
Linda L. Bielowski, Ph.D.
On certain nights
jumpy with expectancy
When she feels
the earth tilt on its axis
And she slides down
the slant of the moon
She sets out the tray of bread
and mazer of elderberry wine
A love offering awaits
His coming
During anxious hours
She hikes the Appalachian Trail
of her beginnings
Through hollows holy with song
the melodic call of the dulcimer
Counterpoints with the shrill warning whistle
that echoes from the mines
Foretelling another death
a reason to stop the mantle clock
And to cover the parlor mirror
No strangers to heartache
and hardship
Her beloved ones burrow underground
to become human moles
Unearthing precious ore
to stuff the tight pockets
Of the company boss
with silver and gold
Swallowing coal dust
until lungs blacken
And breath wheezes
like rusty steam pipes
Living in pentimento
one image camouflaging another
She strips away layers of paint
to reveal her roots
And to welcome her people
tillers of soil
Tellers of stories
titans of faith
In life everlasting
fond of a tale
That sticks to memory
like mama's molasses syrup
Fables of Mother Jones
angel of the unions
Wandering the White Top Mountains
in her dark dress
Trimmed with lace and ribbons
lavender as a halo of laurel
Reckonings of a reverent recluse
who hides in the woods
Never to be looked upon
drinking from a cup inherited
Brimming with the trespasses
of the dead
On certain nights
jumpy with expectancy
When she feels
the earth tilt on its axis
And she slides down
the slant of the moon
She sets out the tray of bread
and the mazer of elderberry wine
A love offering
longing to look upon His face
She sees Him swallow her sins
and free her spirit
