The Sainthood of Father Damien

Father Damien Canonization   Aloha poets, Poetry originally posted at my blog site in the Honolulu Advertiser  newspaper Feb 24, 2009. Enjoy! Posted 2/24/2009 6:10 PM HST Aloha... Inspiration from Father Damien          St. Damien De Veuster   Across the pond from Belgium 1873 The little nest, Kalapapa, safe haven would be A task so noble simple acts of kindness In a time before the global, heartless, and mindless Duty and service in the despair of banish A kind heart arrived never to vanish Epidemic in a land so scenic and blue Father Damien De Veuster cared for you In service to the people with nerves of steel A sail away to Molokai had no broad appeal Acrosss the vast where truthful winds blow The seas rise and ebb as if to know Molokai monastery Ecclesiast From across the sea came help at last Canonization trickling along meager path In 1873 to fight Hanson's wrath Now a date is set at St. Peter's Square October 11th the world meets you there Father Damien De Veuster's story forever now told Homeland  Hawaii across the wet and cold A simple hero in his own time A sainthood now to carry and chime Heroic service reveals no squalor To go alone in silence and simple valor Bells will toll in a Belgium Mission For a life of toil and banished victims Try for a sense of hope as it rises For love embodies all shapes and sizes Arrive at the momentt with faith on display Bridge a divide beyond a feeling of grave Duty as devotion's sanctification route Elevating life is no illusion Among the suffering with a warmth so human Now in far away lands of St. Peter Square St. Damien finds beloved Hawaiians there Back in Kalaupapa hallow the ground Home village Molokai love and joy abound