Anna's Joy, by Joan Leotta

The Presentation, by Jan van 't Hoff (Netherlands). Contemporary. Click image for artist website.

Anna's Joy

So it is now for me
without trumpets or angels
or shining stars to guide me
I must trust even
into my old age
that God's Glory will 
present itself
and I, will have the strength
to exalt in
that Presence.

Joan Leotta

poet's note: Today is the Feast of the Presentation, the day that Jesus was presented in the temple and the prophets Anna and Simeon were there and recognized Him as the Saviour. 

Joan Leotta has been playing with words on page and stage since childhood in Pittsburgh. She is a writer and story performer. Her Legacy of Honor series feature strong Italian-American women. Her poetry and essays appear or are forthcoming in Gnarled Oak, the A-3 Review, Hobart Literary Review, Silver Birch, Peacock, and Postcard Poems and Prose among others. Her first poetry chapbook, Languid Lusciousness with Lemon, was just released by Finishing Line Press. Joan's picture books from Theaqllc, Whoosh!, Summer in a Bowl, Rosa and the Red Apron, and Rosa's Shell celebrate food and family. Her  award-winning short stories are collected in Simply a Smile. You can find more about her work on her blog at www.joanleotta.wordpress.com