Anni is a writer and creative writing teacher and owner of Women Writing for (a) Change in Traverse City, Michigan. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Goucher College and a Masters of Education from Xavier University. Anni is Episcopalian and divides her time between Cinncinnatti, Ohio and Travere City, Michigan, USA.

I.
In the sanctuary,
beeswax candle scent
soothes my nostrils
as I kneel in my pew,
enveloped in solitude.

II.
Step to step, heel to toe
the labyrinth assuages
an ache so raw it throbs.
Lost in thought, the maize
pilots me to the center.
I sit on the bench,
the Jesus Prayer on my lips.

III.
Footsteps echo on
ancient stone:
Durham Cathedral,
St. Cuthbert’s home.
Spirits of centuries
past inoculate me
against twenty first
century diseases,
brought on by PDA’s
email, I-Phones.
Evensong heals.

IV.
Hushed hallways,
alone in bed,
methodically
my fingers play
over beads.
Hail Marys and
Our Fathers carry
me through the end
of the day, when
anxiety threatens
to overtake me.

V.
In the ancient beech forest,
a flicker pecks in
search of breakfast,
The voles burrow
in cozy nests.
Altars everywhere.

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