Loneliness sublimated
to sentimental heroics of gesture
as much to afform (sic) his Noble Nature
as to disrupt, in trust, the ruts of others’ :
Those were more shards by which Sister D. bothered
To take Brother J. seriously enough
To forgive his disrespect for all the Cloth
In general and the starch of her habit
(Vatican II a dream not yet come through quite)
Still grimed by his slight shove that had made her drop
Back into the chair from which she had got up
To think on her toes while rebutting Ladd’s last
(But of course only his latest) bombastic
Attack on the very church that gave him work –
Down from the Pope through the priest + up in her!
– Yes, you, you! Phonies like you! were Ladd’s exact
Words exacting like cracked-mirror reflections
Demanding more of their reverse that fed them.
(from “Raponani” . a verse novel by Brian Chan, 2023)
FARJOURNEY CARIBBEAN 