On Suffering

Nora Ley

I.
I kissed the wooden Crucifix
in the dark I could not
see Him upon it I could only see
The Cross
I do not think you could find
the One without the Other.

II.
Strange, the undeniable beauty
of the moment when
I held her weeping on the
floor—had we ever been
so close?
God must really want to be close
to some, because
Look at their agony.

 Nora Ley is a student of English and Art at Benedictine College. Her literary and painting mentors include Mary Oliver, William Carlos Williams, Jans Peter Jacobsen, Paul Cézanne, and Jean Siméon Chardin. She aims for an ever-evolving style, honesty in expression, and openness of thought in pursuit of understanding. Her poetry and prose explore precise images of nature and questions about femininity. She is from Overland Park, Kansas.