Holy Saturday

Esther Murer 

Every day is Holy Saturday
turned inside out – it’s we who are in the tomb,
each imprisoned in a separate room,
waiting, longing for a wider, fatter day
a get-together-with-our-friends-and-natter day
or venturing out to see the world in bloom.
Every day is Holy Saturday
turned inside out - it’s we who are in the tomb.

Instead we must make do with online chatter day,
struggling with the vagaries of Zoom,
tired of endless prophecies of doom,
trying to make today a things-that-matter-day
doing our best to hallow Holy Saturday
as we mumble “oomb, allwombing tomb.”

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Esther Greenleaf Murer has been writing verse all her life, but got serious about learning the craft when she turned 70. Many of her poems have appeared online; she published one collection, Unglobed Fruit, in 2011; She lives in Philadelphia.