Sanctuary

Inspired by “Sanctuary” from H2 Dance Co.’s Fall Concert: Chapel
(choreography by Lindsey Hanson)

Sanctuary — this word has wriggled its way onto wooden pews
through a tunnel of languages
and centuries.
Sanctuaire, sanctuarium, sanctus — holy.
A set apart place where Medieval fugitives were safe from
arrest,
because sanctuary is not where you find grace;
it is where grace finds you.
Grace,
dancing in colored beams through stained windows,
grace, crashing in waves upon the pews,
sweeping you off your seat, knocking you to your knees.
You did not bargain for this,
but you did not bargain for this embrace either,
this holy embrace holding you as you teeter
suspended
on the fringe of an unbridled riot of peace.

(Cover photo by Jon Lundstrom)

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