{"id":4319,"date":"2015-12-21T13:13:37","date_gmt":"2015-12-21T13:13:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/?p=4319"},"modified":"2021-12-23T18:31:38","modified_gmt":"2021-12-23T18:31:38","slug":"first-came-mary-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/?p=4319","title":{"rendered":"FIRST CAME MARY"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: Josef Roehrl<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A few years back I was fortunate to visit the Yucatan, now billed as the “Mayan Riviera.” An anthropology buff, I was thrilled to tour the ruins of Tulum and Chichen Itza. It was Christmas and I was astonished by the degree of Maryolotry, the inspiration for this poem from my collection Three Blocks West of Wonderland.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

It bears repeating, especially in these turbulent times; Peace on earth, Goodwill to men, including women and children.<\/p>\n

FIRST CAME MARY<\/strong><\/p>\n

Enchanted morning swim, matrix of turquoise<\/p>\n

lagoon. Silver palometas, yellow damselfish<\/p>\n

caress my legs. Casa Ocio walls whitewashed<\/p>\n

in cactus milk. Coconuts on the lawn.<\/p>\n

Palm fronds bowing, rippling like sea anemones.<\/p>\n

Heavy mahogany Hemingway digs.<\/p>\n

Gecko chirps from behind a gilt frame.<\/p>\n

Cool terrazzo marble pulls sand from toes.<\/p>\n

Double rain showerhead. Full throttle bottle bar<\/p>\n

under a palapa. I ponder the power<\/p>\n

of local masonry to withstand hurricanes,<\/p>\n

why it seems odd to name them after men.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Beneath an arbor of pink bougainvillea<\/p>\n

sit my dubious nephew, delicate girlfriend,<\/p>\n

doubts sinking slowly into the deep<\/p>\n

purple cushions. We are going to town. To Playa.<\/p>\n

Soft brown doves adorn neon.<\/p>\n

Turtles bask on green tile mosaic. Red house<\/p>\n

hosts a party tableau of orange Fanta, blue corn<\/p>\n

flowers, flags of paper lace, chocolate pan de huevos<\/em>.<\/p>\n

We smell agave, chili, vanilla, coriander and anise,<\/p>\n

hear mariachis blaze a mighty La Bamba.<\/em> Gobble<\/p>\n

pumpkin tamales, snow-white beach cooling our heels.<\/p>\n

Mongrels expire at the feet of professional urchins<\/p>\n

soliciting pesos. I will not cry, select a white handkerchief<\/p>\n

festooned with poinsettias embroidered by his mother.<\/p>\n

No, I can\u2019t buy them all. Though downcast he will not cry.<\/p>\n

Our Lady of Guadalupe provides. Protects.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Christmastime but it\u2019s Mary I see. Everywhere. To the faithful<\/p>\n

the forever virgin manifests in reefs, rays and schools<\/p>\n

of gobies and fairy basslet. In the crystalline water<\/p>\n

of a cenote near Merida. In the mynah\u2019s cry.<\/p>\n

They live in Mother Mary\u2019s shadow, warm as her embrace.<\/p>\n

Queen of the Americas imperial as the iguana<\/p>\n

gnawing hibiscus, sunning atop Tulum\u2019s serpentine stairways.<\/p>\n

She is wing carved into rock, three pelicans soaring above.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Even Mary, standing on the moon, presiding over the jungle<\/p>\n

in a cloak of stars, could not stop the calendar,<\/p>\n

marauding anthropologists or games to the death.<\/p>\n

On every altar she towers over the crucifix, candles,<\/p>\n

iron crosses, golden grapes. She is under their skin,<\/p>\n

her miraculous portrait inked onto their muscles.<\/p>\n

Hammered in copper, in tin. On murals.<\/p>\n

Santa Maria assures and comforts all<\/p>\n

her Mexican children. Heals. Entirely and ever<\/p>\n

Virgin Mary is the horizon, sea and sky colliding<\/p>\n

in azure, cobalt blues. Sacred to all. Taxi drivers.<\/p>\n

Marimba players. Deejays and charros. She waves<\/p>\n

from the cruise ships, watches over fire dancing,<\/p>\n

blesses the portrait of two young lovers lost<\/p>\n

in a car crash. Her people feel the harbour of her arms<\/p>\n

around them. Her mercy. Infinite. Close.<\/p>\n

First comes Mary. Holy Mary. Mother of God.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A few years back I was fortunate to visit the Yucatan, now billed as the “Mayan Riviera.” An anthropology buff, I was thrilled to tour the ruins of Tulum and Chichen Itza. It was Christmas and I was astonished by the degree of Maryolotry, the inspiration for this poem from my collection Three Blocks West […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4319"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4319"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8209,"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4319\/revisions\/8209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}