“At the Shrine in St. Laurent” by Elena Bentley
Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “At the Shrine in St. Laurent” by Elena Bentley.
At the Shrine in St. Laurent
By Elena Bentley
behind the grotto, built
by Brother Piquet, a halo
of cottonwood, maple
and birch, surrounds nohkom
and her Lady of Lourdes
in soft orange, amber
and ochre. Light, I step
along the trail, where
pilgrims gather near
the holy spring water.
I find her kneeling at the
log pedestal, a midnight
and silver plait halving
her back. Curved in prayer
she whispers Ave, ave, ave
Marie. Her voice clings
in the trees, catches in
the parched and dry grass
that crackles beneath my feet,
waking her from reverie.
She rises slow, turns to me
with lucent hazel eyes
she stares into mine,
parts her palms, rests them
tender on my cheeks:
nooshishimโpray with me.
Copyright ยฉ Elena Bentley
Elena Bentley is a multi-genre writer and proud Mรฉtis aunty. Her poetry chapbook, taliped, was recently published by 845 Press (taliped was also a finalist for the 2022 Vallum Chapbook Award). You can find her poems in literary journals like Arc Poetry, Room, The Malahat Review, and PRISM international, among others. She received an Honourable Mention in Grainโs 2022 Short Grain (Poetry) Contest, and in 2021 she was a finalist for CV2โs 2-Day Poem Contest. She is the author of the childrenโs picture book The Pickle in Grandmaโs Fridge (YNWP, 2022), and she was shortlisted for CANSCAIPโs 2023 Writing for Children Competition (Young Adult category). Elena is the Editor for Grain Magazine.
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