XXXV
LADDER

While he slept in Haran—with a stone           Genesis 28:12 etc.
for a pillow—Jacob dreamed of a ladder
where angels were ascending and descending;
this ladder was your cross: above it
the voice of your God tells us: “I am with you!
I will keep you and bring you back to this land!”
Your cross provides the steps which lead to Glory
and it is the strong staff with which the man
of faith can move the mountains
of the universe; and it is the point
of support for the heart; it is crystallized
like a diamond in the furnace of love.
Your cross is a winnowing-fork that divides
your harvest so the wheat goes to the granary
and the straw is blown by the wind into the fire
which constantly purifies the chaff.