The Catholic Writers Guild

Let Freedom Ring! 

Freedom is ours among all created things:

freedom! It can ring our hearts,

clear, on the march

or it can clang with the noise that is in us,

around us

distorting our expressions

disordering our air;

We pollute the day with darkness—

Our freedom gone awry.

Watch the birds taking flight!

Our humanity they fly!

They do not stray from their goal.

Not so the human heart

gone cold.

But the Christ heart builds the Body

glows

trumpets victory over shining seas

releases those not free

strengthens our vast land

where peoples come with hope

for what’s been promised long ago.

What do they find?

Stealth, aggression, over-possession?

Or freedom to look for and breathe

life, liberty, happiness—

All accents, colors, creeds?

Is the promise just our spirit?

Is the Spirit lost in dreams?

Children of the Church, whose victory do we bleed?

-Rita A. Simmonds-

 

Oh Beautiful for heroes proved

in liberating strife,

Who more than self their country loved

and mercy more than life.

America, America God mend thy every flaw,

confirm thy soul in self control,

thy liberty in law.

 

The Final Hour

 After I died I found myself amid rows.

Others were there too and, like me,

were waiting, behind me,

some kneeling, some sitting.

I had been there awhile and, though the place was quiet,

my soul was loud.

You made us for yourself, O Lord,

and our hearts find no peace until they rest in you

I looked at my watch.

It had stopped at three o’clock,

though I could not tell whether in the morning or afternoon.

A woman had gone in before me.

I heard the hollow sound of high heels and saw a glimpse

of her strong calf muscles as she closed the regal door

behind her.

Grace builds upon nature without destroying it

and glory, without obliterating, perfects

My palms were sweaty.

I had been through this five hundred and thirty-nine times,

to be infinitely exact.

One would have thought I could not keep promises,

but this, this,

in a mysterious way,

this making of mistakes and coming back

had seemed to enable me to keep my promise.

I, a sinner, take you to be my spouse.

I promise to be true to you

But now it was the final hour.

Why should it be different than before?

I will say another prayer, I thought,

then realized

it was too late for that –

I heard the knob turn and the heavy door swung

open. The woman in high heels walked out with a glow

transcending the makeup she wore.

It was now my turn to enter.

Father, forgive me,

for I am a sinner

Bart Price

Rita A. Simmonds is an award winning poet.  She lives in Broklyn, NY with her husband and two children.  You can see her work often in publications of the Magnificat including their Year of Faith Companion.  She has generously given permission to use her work today.

Bart Price is a recent winner of the CWG Seal of Approval for his newest book of poetry:  The Wild Woods Edge published in July 2013 by Aquiet press in Nashville, TN. More of his work as well as his music can be viewed and heard at  www.bartprice.com. At times serious and sometimes playful, yet always rich with meaning, the poems in The Wild Woods Edge express a sense of hope and longing for the love and adventure that we all seek in this world and in the next.