When God Calls To Mary he sent my namesake angel Gabriel, so she would not miss that He was calling. Was it Verrocchio who framed her features or was young, DaVinci in charge of setting forth Mary’s character for us. We know his master, Verocchio Instructed him to “finish the angel.” Mary seems alert, in command, almost cold—one hand on her reading, interrupted by the messenger, other hand raised in greeting or astonishment, or was she stopping Gabriel’s flow of words to fill the space between them with her response? Yet I am drawn to a different picture of her, one framed by her own words, not brushstrokes-- “My soul doth magnify the Lord…” Is the pride the knowledge that “all generations will call me blessed.” My own soul seethes with questions, pines for artistic answers not given here. Perhaps not even DaVinci’s masterful brushstrokes can tell me how to recognize God’s call when He does not send an angel. Joan Leotta 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
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The Ekphrastic Review
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June 2025
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