EGO SUM NOLI TIMERE
(“It is I, do not be afraid”)

Whose cattle are these
that lowly moan
and feed on tall green grass?
Whose calf that cavorts
with careless
and innocent joy?
Whose geese that swim
the gently flowing river
as an armada?
I do not own them,
but they belong to me
as surely as I to them.
And when I stop
to watch,
and still my breath,
the cattle stop eating,
the calf stands quietly
and the geese stop swimming,
as we slowly bow our heads
to the Holy Presence before each of us.

Ego sum noli timere…