Sister Mary Faith Schuster's Poetry

This Day

Sister Mary Faith Schuster, OSB

Everything
in the morning
is perfect
in the monastery.
Everything is left spotless
from the night before,
the little paper pieces
from the carpets
picked up by someone
who loved the very floors enough
to let them be perfect too.

The outside is singing too,
and in the distance
someone at Midwest Grain
is handling things
to keep the world going.

St. Benedict
with his lamp burning
and his finger raised
in blessing
is there.

Someone, at 5:30 a.m.
has turned on the light inside
where 98 years
have heard the words
"I have loved you with
an everlasting love"
Everything is ready
for the day.