XIV
BROOK-FOUNTAIN

Your body shines like a brook in the sun,
a vein of silver in the blackness
of the rocks that enclose its channel;
the waters form a single current
above the abiding depths of the soul.

We bathe ourselves in You, a Jordan of flesh,
and in You we are born of water and of spirit.           John 3:5.
From your face in the water—waves of silver—
we see the spirit descend as a dove from heaven:           John 1:32.
its wings merge with the waves,
seeming to fly through the depths
of the bed of your waters. You baptize
with the Holy Spirit; you submerge us           John 1:33.
in an everlasting sea, which is pure light.
The image of the spirit is reflected
in your breast, and for us the dove,
a white tongue of fire, seems like           Acts 2:3.
a snowflake that falls from your lap.

You, Jesus, are like a living fountain
in the depths of the forest that sings
pure songs of eternal love.