Ave

Accustomed to
many perplexing forms of greeting
from the ridiculous to the ribald,
when hailed by the sublime
she was only mildly bemused,
hardly struck dumb
at all.

Maria

Accustomed to
the music of her name on
the lips of suitors, whispering
in the marketplace, the feigned
deaf ears; but this one
harped on so, she stopped
to listen.

Gratia

Accustomed to
nothing for something, she heard
the word of grace as poetry,
something beyond itself, reserved
to strangers who sang
in the synagogues.

Plena

Accustomed to
hunger, the kind not sated
by any food but love, she wondered
what  might it mean
to be full: let it be
to me, said she.