Poem 116: The Lantern Of The Vale Poem by Samer Madbak

Smiling as yet
That happy smile belies
Her tragic history
Defies regret…
Her life of loss
Details the Mystery
Of Christ upon the Cross…
Grieving still
And yet despair
Despaired of all his tries
To swill
The beauty of her face.
The wrinkling
Wrought by care
Has failed to minimize
The glorious twinkling
Of her eyes
The virtue of her grace
Striving as e’er
Another sycamore
Rooted deep
Within a blessed soil
Behold her there!
Upon the Valley’s steep
A lantern burning evermore
With a sacred oil
A holy will
She’s shining still
A glimmer never pale
A flicker never faint
Once more this blessed Vale
Begets a saint!


Beirut
July 19th 1996