She did not cry, ‘I cannot, I am not worthy,’
nor, ‘I have not the strength.’
She did not submit with gritted teeth,
raging coerced.
Bravest of all humans,
consent illumined her.
The room filled with its light,
the lily glowed in it,
and the iridescent wings.
Consent,
courage unparalleled,
opened her utterly.
-Denise Levertov, from “Annunciation”
