My Husband Gets a Pedicure

Pedilavium

          Bernard of Clairvaux:  “Feet-washing is cleansing of those daily offenses which seem inevitable for those who walk  in the dust of the world.”

I can tell he is soothed 

by the sound of water filling the  basin 

of the pedicure chair.

With a tap of her hands on his feet, 

the woman gestures the steps 

of a ritual familiar to me, foreign to him.

She cuts away  hardened flesh, 

files calloused heels,  rests each foot 

on a clean white towel.

I hope he feels welcome here,

humbled by illness and age,

unable to care for himself.

His eyes are closed.

Perhaps he is entering a tent  

after a long journey.