The Pearl Merchant's Ode

The Pearl Merchant's Ode

Olga Dugan

              (for Mom and Alex Civil)

there you are
in a Groom, Texas park
called Stations of the Cross
in clothes from another century
laced dress white as Camellias
matches a lamb’s wool stole
you might’ve forgotten
donning today, given
            to forgetfulness
            but never forgettable
nonagenarian with stratum
of salt and pepper hair
crowning layered strands
from mars yellow to light umber
to raw sienna framing your face—
nacre thin, wrinkled—though, no
lack of luster still shines through
             surely your travels
have had their shade/sunbeam
meadow/mountain, some taking
you far afield from your center
and yet, past perfections out-factor
aged acuity, dulled dexterity
the curve of your smile
the curiosity in sharp eyes
feasting on the art of selflessness
             at Station Three, The First Fall
a tiny wonder, barely toddling
shaken-free from her mother’s tender
has gone to aid, not the bronze statue
most perceive, but the Friend she
finds familiar bent beneath a burden
she wants to help Him bear
stooping, she takes hold of the cross
wraps around its base mighty
little arms and lifts, lifting
all over a single-minded face
            it’s now that you see me
hear me call your name—Rarest
Matchless, worth all because
redeemed at great price—
and there you stand amazed by
grace in this iridescent present
where once again you first believe

---

Olga Dugan
Poet & Educator

Olga has been recently published in Relief Journal, Channel (Ireland), Sky Island Journal, Cathexis Northwest Press, The Write Launch, Grand Little Things, E-Verse Radio, Ariel Chart, The Windhover, and The Sunlight Press. Articles on poetry, drama, and cultural memory appear in The Journal of African American History, The North Star, and in Emory University's “Meet the Fellows.”

Photography by Aedrian