Hadewijch of Antwerp

Hadewijch Dear Lady, I know you well. The solitary cup of tea, the walk alone in the woods. Hours kneeling before the cross. You shared many secrets, but the one you never shared was this: your love was in your body, you felt it in you cells, your hands, your lovely cheek. How young you were. Your fiery spirit confined in those strange costumes, that curious head gear, those billowing skirts. Yet Love found your heart, told you how to turn, how to pray without words, you were hers. The others at times did not approve. How much is too far? You listened silently and wrote more verses. Dead at 45, who knows why? yet still here. Dorothy Walters June 1, 2021 (Hadewijch was a Beguine who lived in whatis now Belgium. Beguinae were independent women who lived together and, though they were mostly good Catholics, exercised a certain freedom of thought and action. Some of Hadewijch's ideas challeged traditional church beliefs.)