POETRY
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She imagines statues of the Virgin and St. Francis -
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Sister Stephanie Runs the Chicago Marathon
by Angie Minkin
Author's Note 1: Sister Stephanie Baliga is a nun with the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels
and has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to serve her very poor neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago. In 2020, she ran the Chicago Marathon (26.2 miles) on a treadmill in the Mission’s basement in three hours and 33 minutes. An excellent time, despite the treadmill tripping the convent’s circuit breaker three times and knocking out the power. Author's Note 2: This is an Abecedarian poem. |
Air shifts, wakes Sister and the angels. Early,
before the sun rises, Sister Stephanie stirs, hears call of birdsong and bells, crawls from bed, dead-tired, perhaps, but no matter. Glory flames everywhere in her world, this silent time to fly, to race through empty west-side streets. She is giddy with joy as she quietly unlatches the huge convent door, devoting her body to God, an instrument of grace, this young nun, this stubborn Joan of the trails, determined to outfit the Mission’s kitchen, to feed the poor. Confident she has power to lift her community, heal hearts, make them whole. Money flows with the miles and she learns to speak out, never doubting her own nerve, her speed, her pace. Observing God’s work in every stick, every crack in the pavement, each black bird’s trill. She won’t fail in her quest to finish the 2020 marathon, canceled by Covid. Running resolutely on the basement treadmill, she imagines statues of the Virgin and St. Francis giving elbow bumps. Tough teens, frail seniors, all homebound, ready to give up, cheer virtually. Sister Stephanie will run that loop forever. She vacuums up the miles, smiling, glowing, really. Even atheists willingly to pray with her, counting the rosaries. Sister knows she is exactly where she must be, knows she will succeed, knows Yahweh made her this way, perfect, a running nun. Sister finds her Zen, her mission, her glory. |
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