114 - Catherine, In the Streets of Siena, Faces the Problem of Evil

Catherine, In the Streets of Siena, Faces the Problem of Evil
By Pamela Rice Porter

1374

Oh Black Death! And who but the Son
of Gentle Truth dies wretching while
corpulent priests would fain not soil
their garments, blessing them that curse us?
Dear Raymond, how I bear the loss,
now seven, of my own nieces and nephews, yet bear
moreover the yoke, that rich, smooth speech
of those who would inhume the afflicted yet living
so to plunder meager houses and nail
with jewelled hammers the hands, feet,
in the name of deterring Black Death.
My Raymond, already have they perished.
And have I heard it said of you, called by Gentle Truth
(who calls Himself Infinite Love And Infinite Sorrow)
to France, and fearing yourself a martyr
at the hands of the powerful, would turn back? Dear brother!
Do you want to die or to perish?
For by grasping not one we grasp the other.
By my oath, Raymond, from these ghettos of Siena
things are not as they appear: Absorbing Dark,
having ravaged these plagued to death no more in them can live
but ravages them that themselves would save.

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Pamela Rice Porter lives on a ranch near Great Falls, Montana. She has taught English in Texas, New Mexico, and Washington State. Her poetry has appeared in Commonweal, Other Side, and Sojourners.