When I met her
She was lying by the water bed
Whispering to the babbling brook
Watching all her secrets pour down stream.
Tumbling along side small rocks
And grains of sand and life and
Death and fallen leaves.
You should have seen her
With that melancholy look in her eyes
Becoming more and more at peace
With every soft word she spoke to the nothingness around her.
I wanted to approach her but
I couldn’t think of disturbing her.
So I just edged closer.
Just stared.
And I could tell that I had startled her
By the way she jerked her head up at me
With alarm quickly claiming her face.

So I just held out my hand.

In the years that followed
Mary taught me about nature and
I taught her about god.

She believed in the sky and
The land and wind and fire and rain
To cleanse her
Of the pain brought upon by
Her mother leaving and
Her lingering heart ache and
Her distant father.

I believed in the son and
The father and the Holy Spirit and
Bread and wine and confession
To cleanse me.
Of the pain brought upon by
That childhood fire and
The loss of my brother and
The pain of my parents.

In the years that followed Mary
Taught me about love and I taught her about love.

I believed in Faith.
Mary believed in Faith.