State of Grace

Grace is a shape shifter, as noted in the following poem. Keep your eyes peeled!

Chameleon

Over eons, grace 

has perfected

the art of hiding

in plain sight

by shape shifting—

Here a tissue

offered to dry

tears of exhaustion,

there the sparkle

of a ring affixed

to a woman’s finger

for more than 50 years,

Always wafting

on the milky breath

of a newborn 

and on breezes

that fortify crews

of sweaty roofers,

And if you look

askance, you can see

her in the cat’s offering 

of a dead mouse

and in valentines

scrawled for mothers

of second-graders.

Through a lifetime 

of constantly changing 

circumstances, she is

the chameleon found

wherever beauty abounds

and kindness quickens,

a sly yet steadfast 

reminder that all 

of us live continually

in a state of grace.

       — Jennifer Halling, OSB