In
the rugged splendour
that
is south-central Italia
Remnants
of warriors fierce
and
their battles fought
May
be heard echoing in the silence
that
is the non-blessing of priests
Who
deigned not visit areas
deemed
too remote for God
to
waste his precious time on
The
suffering of the poverty-stricken
who
by geographical misfortune
alone
were denied the grace
bestowed
by Roma
Lesser
tribes may have been cowed
by
such blatant disregard
but
centuries of chauvinistic
persecution
has not shaken
a
faith more solid than
some
of the marble idolatry
found
in other more ostentatious
places
of worship
It
is as if by not having had to deal
with
the intermediaries -
ambitious
priests, cardinals and such -
They
have met directly with
their
God and in so doing, their
beliefs
remained clear and strong.
S.E.Ingraham©
