Dawn on Mount Sinai

by Meg Smith

A kitten beholds the downward path,
between stones and a slanted beam.
A Russian Orthodox priest
stands in the same path, with a slate beard,
and eyes of blue, fierce promise.
From the monastery a hymn rises
to St. Catherine.
The sun is her only certain wheel.
A young man from
Lebanon approaches:
“Sabah al kher” — good morning.
All are a benediction.
In the night, I fell.
The cold pebbles of the moon caught me,
as sure as an astronaut’s boot print.
The story of Moses caught me.
The darkness upheld me.
I upheld this lunar landing,
this prayer, in my sleep until waking.
Flames will spring from our feet,
and ashes from the sky.