1908-2004
selected by Nobuko Veronica Sato
"Ave Maria"
Echoed from tiny chapel
On Tsuwano Hill
Voices clear in reverence,
Remembering the martyrs.
Black as night, Fuji
Mountain rising in the dawn
As the sun appears.
Peace returns after the storm;
All is ready for the day.
The moonlight's shining
On the gardenia bush
But all blossoms gone;
Yet in my mind's eye appear
The ravishing white visions.
The stars in the sky
You capture for Christmas
On your greeting card.
When I see I remember
Walking 'neath the stars with you.
From within dark church
I could see the bright sunlight
And beckoning trees,
Yet I was still held in prayer,
Caught up in God's sweet presence.
In the far distance
Between the trunks of the trees,
Fiery red sky
Hails the end of the day's toil,
Welcoming the peace of night.
Neal Henry Lawrence OSB *
Trinity Benedictine Monastery
Saint John's Abbey *
Obituary *
CSB and SJU