Lapel

You were a person who happened to have a suit jacket on that day.

Many hands lay upon a young woman standing stiff like a sunflower, head hanging in sadness with a child under two on her hip.

I heard the prayers, but not the words.  I was holding that child on my hip.

I felt the hands slip away from my tense tight back, arms, and shoulders.  You offered your lapel.

My head hung in shame covered with tears of humility.  All I could see was the lapel of your coat.  You were Jesus in a jacket.  For a flash in time, you met me where I was, and you offered me comfort when I could not help myself,  all in a moment on a small lapel.

 -Molly Elizabeth McCabe, 1990

Pictures of Sunflowers from our garden.