By the Horse’s Stall

The Nativity by Gari Melchers

An Ekphrastic Poem by Rosa Lía Gilbert

Oh Mary, Oh Joseph 

Sitting ‘round this newborn babe.

But not a babe, a light 

piercing time, space, darkness to save 

every beating heart in every century, 

every atom, and every cell.

Such a holy mission, wholly accepted, 

but did you say, “It is well?”

When Herod ran you out of town, 

like enslaved Israelites fleeing Egypt. 

When you lost him for 72-hours

and found him chastising the teachers.   

In those moments of bewildered wonder 

perhaps you did your very best to recall

his tiny glowing head—beam of eternal life 

incarnate, born by the horse’s stall.  

Rosa Gilbert is a publishing assistant at Calla Press Publishing LLC. Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Spanish is her first language, but it was through learning English that she fell in love with words. Her work has been published at Ekstasis, Clayjar Review, The Way Back to Ourselves, Vessels of Light, Prosetrics Literary Magazine, among others. She lives in Ohio with her husband and daughter. You can find her writing at https://rosagilbert.substack.com/ and @rosagilbertpoetry.