A Pair of Hands

INDEED I loved these hands and knew them well —
Nervous, expressive, holding a Chinese pink,
A child, a book, always withdrawn and still
As if they had it in their power to think,
Hands that the Flemish masters have explored,
Who gave delicate strength and mystic grace
To contemplative men, to women most adored
As if to give the inmost heart a face —
Indeed I learned to love these secret hands
Before I found them here, open to mine,
And clasped the mystery no one understands,
Read reverence in their fivefold design,
Where animals and children may be healed
And in the slightest gesture Love, revealed.