What sparks jump
between two lovers,
what intimate whispers
and erotic juices flow
from flesh to flesh
when hand is holding hand?
It is merely possession,
some may say,
a claim of property,
a way of seizing and keeping
what is desired in the flesh;
yet this cannot take hold
of the mystery entwined,
the sacred bond beyond grasping
that is made visible, tangible
when hand is holding hand.
Lovers and leaders
know the truth,
that there is giving
in the taking of another’s hand,
an unspoken substance
of love, wisdom and concern
not only
making single lives complete
but also
comforting the mourning,
strengthening the weak,
guiding the wandering home,
emanating the faith of promises,
and opening the door of the heart
with new acquaintances.
If you reach for the other’s hand
and look not into the person's eyes,
and care not to see
Christ’s own reflection there,
then you know not the miracle,
the divinely human miracle
of hand holding hand.
_________________________________________________________________
Christina Chase writes of the terrible beauty of life while living with a progressive motoneuron disease. She is the author of It's Good to Be Here: A Disabled Woman's Reflections on God in the Flesh and the Sacred Wonder of Being Human, published by Sophia Institute Press. Christina lives in the woodlands of New Hampshire with her caregiving parents.
between two lovers,
what intimate whispers
and erotic juices flow
from flesh to flesh
when hand is holding hand?
It is merely possession,
some may say,
a claim of property,
a way of seizing and keeping
what is desired in the flesh;
yet this cannot take hold
of the mystery entwined,
the sacred bond beyond grasping
that is made visible, tangible
when hand is holding hand.
Lovers and leaders
know the truth,
that there is giving
in the taking of another’s hand,
an unspoken substance
of love, wisdom and concern
not only
making single lives complete
but also
comforting the mourning,
strengthening the weak,
guiding the wandering home,
emanating the faith of promises,
and opening the door of the heart
with new acquaintances.
If you reach for the other’s hand
and look not into the person's eyes,
and care not to see
Christ’s own reflection there,
then you know not the miracle,
the divinely human miracle
of hand holding hand.
_________________________________________________________________
Christina Chase writes of the terrible beauty of life while living with a progressive motoneuron disease. She is the author of It's Good to Be Here: A Disabled Woman's Reflections on God in the Flesh and the Sacred Wonder of Being Human, published by Sophia Institute Press. Christina lives in the woodlands of New Hampshire with her caregiving parents.
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