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Into utter silence came the word,
not even the rustle of a mouse, nor bird
beyond her window, nothing to disturb
the restless shift of wings, nothing to curb
her fear as she confronted him, the face
luminous in the immensity of grace,
filled with tenderness and with a trace
of awe, if angels can be said to taste
such moments, struck by how so young a girl
could possibly consent to bear a world
of last resort in her own flesh, a pearl
so rare that even hosts of angels whirl
in ecstasy at the unleashing of the gift
that caused the universe and time to shift.