APPARITION OF THE VIRGIN TO ST. BERNARD by CHARLES-JOSEPH NATOIRE  (1700-1777) 

…be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her; that you may suck and be satisfied with her consoling breasts; that you may drink deeply with delight from the abundance of her glory.

Isaiah 66:10-11

THE BREAST 

Everything unprepares you for what is to come. 

The distance between them, the pile of witnesses,  
many women and cherubs, the guard dog,  
the carrying angel, so attentive to tuck in her dress, 
the saint's obstruction of clothes, as he’s perched  
on a pile of steps too precarious to maneuver.   

For good measure, Jesus himself is present, one hand  
covering it.  

She will open her dress and let a breast out, take it in her hand  
and squeeze it in his mouth.  

When it happens, all there is will be a breast. 
When it happens, his mind will erase everything else. 
When it happens, even earth will be wobbly and warm 
and will bounce against his closed eyes and the smell 
will be of skin, breath, and sweat, his and hers. 

When it happens, at the end of when it happens,  
he will feel so secure that he will let himself erased  
and, out of her milk, redrawn.   

Ave maris stella. 
Hail, star of the sea.  

Mostra te esse matrem. 
Show thyself to be our mother.  

—Stefan Balan