hands clasped and circling the unfinished house. earthbrown and cloudblue with rope belts and puffy sneakers. transplant nuns atoning in a desert canaan. here they bless the earth. their neighbors’ land. the part-roofed house. their child, new-born or soon-to-be [me]. here they pray through and up and into. the earth. their neighbors’ house. the child, new- or not-yet-born.