In the vineyard, she worked
where her mother�s sons treated her
as scum.
In the vineyard, she fell in love
with a shepherd others regarded
as scum.
He was a simple poet about to turn
his father�s psalm into an opera.
(Fate of both works:
plastered in front of the temple
on opposite columns, free-standing giants,
later dragged into censorship,
later resurrected, later knocked down again,
later a third cycle,
then finally held up for good.)
In the vineyard, he promised to return for her,
and her brothers laughed.
In the vineyard, she promised to wait for him,
and the maidens laughed.
He was the simple king about to turn
her world into a universe.