Light enters
the cornea
mysteriously
and scatters 
an image
in our mind
as inconspicuously 
as the approach
of the angel
in Mary’s room.

Sensing an abrupt
and warm presence,
Mary turns her gaze
to face the angel. 
For a moment,
their two faces
like two globes
illuminate each other,
the eyes drawn to the eyes,
eternity suspended
in a moment.
Not since Jacob
wrestled with his angel
was so much splendor
at arm’s reach.
Did she flinch
even for a moment
at the task before her,
at the luminosity around her?

Quite as suddenly,
the angel retreated,
leaving Mary to ponder
what she could never forget
and never quite retrieve:
He is the Icon of the invisible God,
and the firstborn of all creation.