Bowing down to an angel by Sofia Kioroglou

Stone carving above the entrance of the Onuphrius monastery in Akeldama, Jerusalem (Potter’s field). The image shows Onuphrius bowing down to an angel.

Bowing down to an angel

An old hermit has come to the door to greet me
In long hair and a loincloth of leaves, he beckons me in
“Seventy years in the desert and the only visitor an angel
Delivering communion bread every Sunday” he says

Entering the monastery in Akaldema, he invites me to his cell
To talk until sunset and burn incense before praying to God
before I tell him I am starving to death, like manna from heaven
Bread and water appear miraculously, him now bowing down to an angel

At the far end of Gai Ben Hinnom, where Judas Iscariot hanged himself
A hermit bids the pilgrims goodbye, with a crown at his feet
wearing a loincloth of leaves, blesses the travelers and prays
the wild figure standing at the porch invisible to the naked eye.

Sofia KioroglouSofia Kioroglou is a Greek poet, writer and perennial traveller to the Holy Land and Egypt. Her recent entry to the Festival for Poetry was singled out at the Best of February and her poems have been selected in the 26 Most Commented Writers Category of Pengician. Her poems can be found online and in print in Lunaris Review, In Between Hangovers, Galleon Literary Journal, Pengician, Galway Review, Verse-Virtual, Dumas de Demain, Books’ Journal, Poetic Diversity, Every Writer, Winamop and Aenaon to name but a few. She has work forthcoming this March in Basil o’ Flaherty. She was one of the winners in the International Competition of Epok.gr this January and her work won a distinction in the Poetry Contest of Unesco Club for the return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece. Her work is mentioned in the Winningwriters Magazine this February.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.