Spirit of God, by Michal Perry

Mother Sitting on the Green Sofa, by Michal Perry (USA, b. Israel) 2019

Spirit of God  
 
Voices awaken, gathering 
from spaces of expanding light.
 
Morning light washes over the air 
and sunrays enter through furls of white fabric. 
 
A quiet wind cools the room. 
 
Particles of light sketch shapes in the air,
fine threads of radiance weave your figure.
 
Your eyelids half-open, half-closed,
pupils gleaming like glass eyes in a doll, 
 
Creases in the corner of your eyes,
wrinkles at the edges of your mouth.
 
Your face is complete, nothing is missing.
 
Shadows of gray leaves cast on bright drapes
in hues of fine cream hiding from the harsh sun.
 
Mom, you lie on the carpet in your room.  
Your body wrapped in the thin purple Nightgown
you so loved to wear. 
 
Your hands rest on your belly. 
Your long fingers reveal the aristocratic origins that denied your existence.   
Fingers faintly swollen, always swollen, ruddy, wide and strong,  
the hands of a hardworking labourer. 
You spread them out before me,
proof of your existence.  
 
They will move no more.
They will no more take pride in their work.
 
Your mouth is slightly open
as if halted mid-motion - 
Perhaps you had something more to say.
 
Your lips are blue cracked and dry -
Perhaps you got out of bed to moisten them 
In the middle of the night.
 
You’re beautiful, Mom. You’re beautiful.   
I hold your cold hands, I stroke your long fingers,
thick and weary, your gleaming forehead,
your fine hair pulled back.
 
And once more the leaves whisper:
 
This is the spirit of God blowing  
This is the spirit of God hovering
Over the face of the deep.
 
Michal Perry

Translated by Joanna Chen.
 
Artist's note: I began painting the portrait, Mother Sitting on the Green Sofa, while my mother was still alive; she passed away in late 2019. The painting, as a testament to her presence, set against the poem in which she surfaces in memory—alive/dead—creates a link between memory, form, and words.

​Michal Perry is a poet, writer, painter, and multidisciplinary artist, born in Jerusalem.  Michal was awarded an Honorable Mention in the prestigious Haaretz Newspaper's Short Story Competition 2025 (Israel). Her poems have appeared in leading journals and she has three poetry collections in Hebrew: Like Waking up From A Dream to A Dream (Emeda Publishing House), Lost Space of Time (Ktav Publishing House), and Between Light and Light (Argaman-Meitav). Michal Perry was manager and curator of the Klarfeld Perry Gallery. In addition, she presented solo exhibitions and participated in international group exhibitions in the US and Europe. www.michalperry.com