Francis, You Beauty
(I wrote this in September 2015 at the time of Pope’s visit to the US. In an increasingly polarized world, I continue to be inspired by this giant of a personality working to bring people together.)
Just as I had promised myself a break from writing, he shows up
Such inspiration, Oh my God
Is this Pope impressive or what
A Fiat 500 in DC
Washing, kissing feet of people condemned by us society
Women, Children, Muslims included
Seriously
His shoes ordinary black and not the crafted red
His car not a Mercedes but with 190K on it a 1984 Renault
His living in modest guest house apartments and not the palatial suites
And his love of spending time with the downtrodden at every opportunity
With eyes closed and in my mind only, I imagined, tried and failed in even imitating such humility
On the side of tears and smiles, this one Pontiff is for the ages
Tolerant and all inclusive, he talks our language, that of the masses
Mixed in with a lot of common sense
And believes in a singular, common Divine
And asks us to be kind
To each other and to this world
And to them less privileged
He totally totally gets it
That our bigger enemy often is not without but within
That war is the supreme villain
That we partner in this planet’s blessings and its sufferings
That when people fight and divide, God often ends up on the losing side
That a nuclear truce is an unclear truce
Recommending a “Culture of Care” he is clearly brokering Worldly Peace
Please pretty please
Can we all unite behind him for some days
For our very sake
Pape
You can be my Pied Piper any day of the week
And so what if I am a Muslim, a Hindu, an Atheist
It is obvious that so many have his ear
Dear Catholics shall we share him with you for I know it won’t bother him a bit