1. Three women walk alone; unquieted each communes with disbelief a life so full could ebb so soon. They seek the dead but meet instead the Silence of an empty tomb. 2. No stone now blocks their way; before them like a womb the love of God as yet unfathomed in the gloom invites them in toe apprehend the Silence of an empty tomb. 3. No final rite for grief, no body to perfume, no parting like the tender parting they assumed. Their lord is gone, and life rests on the Silence of an empty tomb. From Songs for the Cycle ©2004 by Michael Hudson. Church Publishing Incorporated. All rights reserved. Used by permission.