Desafio

(To Bianca)

Out of the glistening sands of Santander, Spain;

Meandering through the mountainous morass that is Mexico;

Breaking across the border of bright beginnings:

Frazzled, famished and found with child –

Like Hagar stumbling through the unpromised land:

Used, abused, and cast adrift;

Struggling for life for a dying child;

Hoping beyond hope that there is justice

Beyond the wiles of man and the hands of fate.

Up from despair by hands of mercy;

Learning the language of a new land;

Working overtime to repay the costs

Of a forlorn journey and delicate delivery.

From these things and more have you emerged

With grace, dignity, and light;

Proving once again the fire that enflamed

Prometheus and Sisyphus yet burns –

Even in the heart of a woman-child

Who is now a woman of unequaled beauty –

A rare jewel in the crown of heaven!

For each pain you suffered,

Each injustice you endured,

You responded with “quiet grace” and dignity –

Becoming what many aspire to be

But few ever become.

You cut the strings of the gods

That wreaks havoc in human lives;

Who bestow upon humans free will

Then force them to surrender to that of the gods.

Now, your time has come.

The stars have aligned in your favor –

The lost of Juliet and her Romeo

Has become your gain.

Heaven smiles to see what you were

And what you have become.

You have come up from dying in the dust

To shining as a star;

Excelling as a mother;

Reincarnating Florence Nightingale.

In your defiance of culture, clan, and cultus,

You have given hope that humans

Might rise above chance, circumstance, and condition

To a wondrous height

Beyond the Roché limit of the gods

Against which Icarus collided

And crashed to earth to rise no more.

Truly you are a rare jewel in the crown of heaven –

I kneel before your holy face

And kiss your tender hand

Unmarred by life’s cruel work.

I greet thee Bianca on your ascent

To the pantheon of the gods!