The persistence of faith; the persistence of the Catholic Church; the persistence of one man elevated above all others; the persistence of ambition; the persistence of sorrow.
“Lolek,” was John Paul II’s pet name, used by family and close friends, and now by the world.
1. Our Father
Lolek, you
were the clever one.
You, the Savior’s proxy,
understood, and so
had proxies of your own.
Waleska,
with the Virgin’s banner;
Reagan and Gorbachev
with their brigades, and
dreams of redemption;
And then, Joseph,
your German -
a simple worker
with his inquisition,
doing your will
on earth,
as you believed
it was God’s will
in heaven.
2. Lolek’s Tears
The Passion of John Paul II
The First Station:
You were eight years old when your mother died.
The Second Station:
Twelve years old, and your brother’s death.
The Third Station:
The Nazi invasion; the stone quarry.
The Fourth Station:
Twenty-one, and your father died.
The Fifth Station:
The resistance - hunted and hiding.
The Sixth Station:
Communists.
The Seventh Station:
Habemus Papem - We have a Pope.
The Eighth Station:
Two bullets from Mehmet Ali Agca.
The Ninth Station:
The pedophiles.
The Tenth Station:
Parkinson’s.
The Eleventh Station:
The unreachable mountains.
The Twelfth Station:
Public suffering -
barely able to lift your head or arms
they propped you in your chair
or supported you at the window
and you gave your Blessings in silence.
The Thirteenth Station:
“Let me go to the house of the Father.”
They tapped your forehead with a silver hammer
They cut the ring from your finger
They prepared your body
The world wept...
Your German made plans.
The image is ubiquitous and uncredited.
Friday, March 21, 2008
