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At Middletown, at Saint Dimitrie the New Church,
a mother touches her infants to an icon,
forty days after Baptism;

she steps so carefully on the red carpet
in front of the icon
that you get the impression that she’ll ascend
into a heaven that’s only hers
where infants no longer need to choose
good from evil,
man’s most difficult task
since the foundation of the world …!

The mother, Loretta, was born in Focșani,
the father, Richard, was born in Ohio,
to parents who hail from different worlds:
his mother, Danielle, is from the Dominican Republic
his father, Pierre, is from Guadelupe, originally a French citizen,
their marriage sponsors are Milan, born in Serbia
and Evangelia, born in Ireland;
Loretta and Richard live in San Jersey,
Evangelia and Milan live in Boston;

they’re all in the small church at Middletown,
watching with their soul in awe
how before the mother and the infant, doors are opening,
countless doors, the sky itself is a door
which father Jeremiah pushes with two fingers;

the little path becomes narrower as it climbs
in front is the infant, Maria,
behind her the line of men and women
who seem to be leaving the world behind,
like in a well-known votive tableau
from Putna Monastery.

Adrian Alui Gheorghe
Middletown, May 25, 2023