Our Lady of Guadalupe, Break Through, by Elisa A. Garza

Guadalupe Breakthrough by Brother A. Brian Zampier, SM (United States) contemporary

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Break Through

A runny blend of watercolors
captures Our Lady gloaming.
Her green cape is a bright field
dotted with yellow blossoms
that beckons me to pray for healing
while her golden nest brimmed
by barest hint of sky reminds me
that she is heaven sent.
Her face and hands are outlines
waiting for my rosary petitions.
 
But, I wonder if these holy
smudges and shapes
are blurred by my tears
after chemotherapy.
Surely she is not fading,
not murky, or a wavy mirage.
I am often too sick or distracted,
my rosary unfinished, but I trust
Nuestra Señora, my mother,
to intercede for me.
 
She will help me endure
the uncertainty of this cancer.
Forever emerging, she waits
for me to open my heart.
I know her forming image
will break through the fog
of my worries, will ease my fear
with the full intensity of her love,
her complete understanding,
and infinite hope.

Elisa A. Garza
​
Elisa A. Garza is a poet, editor, and writing teacher of students from elementary age to senior citizens.  She is now teaching writing workshops for cancer patients and survivors. Her full-length collection Regalos (Lamar University Literary Press) was a finalist for the National Poetry Series.  Elisa’s chapbooks include Between the Light / entre la claridad, and The Body, Cancerous, forthcoming in 2025 (both from Mouthfeel Press).  Her poems have recently appeared in Southern Humanities Review, Ars Medica, and Huizache and one was recently on exhibit at The Health Museum in Houston.