PADRE PIO


To some,
He is just incarcerated
In his own silence,
A man aloof
And unapproachable.

To others,
The Word has glazed
His eyes,
And his face is serene
With understanding.

Saint or showman?

* * *

The young reporter
With too-much mascara
Needs copy,
Will telex faith
Into safer readership.

She does not see
The votive flame
Of his conviction;
She cannot hear
The below-decibel mumble
Of Credo.

* * *

His copy is inscribed
In the heart’s own Vulgate,
His sales pitch
Becomes the mystic’s conscience.

Through his wounded hands,
He takes on the guilt
Of a generation,
Draws suffering into his side.


(c) Michael Newman