Transverberation

I've been staggering
Ever since the shot in Rome
On Wednesday May 13, 1981
The golden ball saw it all
Down through the ages
In childbed and deathbed

Flooded with light
The daughters of the church

St. Teresa of Avila
St. Teresa of Lisieux
They were rewarded by God
For loving him
They knew the forms
Of the transverberation

A spiritual wounding of the heart
In the form of a mystical vision
A physical wounding of the heart
By a dart or a flame of love

St. Teresa of Avila
St. Teresa of Lisieux