A poem for this time in the life of the USofA

[Shanti Mama]

One of my father's favorites...

There Are Men too Gentle to Live Among Wolves
James Kavanaugh

There are men too gentle to live among wolves

Who prey upon them with IBM eyes
And sell their hearts and guts for martinis at noon.
There are men to gentle for a savage world
Who dream instead of snow and children and Halloween
And wonder if leaves will change their color soon.

There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who anoint them for burial with greedy claws
And murder them for a merchant's profit and gain.
There are men to gentle for a corporate world
Who dream instead of candied apples and ferris wheels
And pause to hear the distant whistle of a train.

There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who devour them with eager appetite and search
For other men to prey upon and suck their childhood dry.
There are men too gentle for an accountant's world
Who dream instead of Easter eggs and fragrant grass
And search for beauty in the mystery of the sky.

There are men to gentle to live among wolves
Who toss them like a lost and wounded dove.
Such gentle men are lonely in a merchant's world
Unless they have a gentle one to love.

[txwhitedove]

1. Brava! Thanks.

[Shanti Mama]

2. You're welcome. If you don't know about the poet,

read here: http://www.jkavanaugh.com

...At the young age of 14, Jim made the decision to attend the seminary in Grand Rapids. He was ordained as a priest in 1954. Jim initially served at St. Joseph, Nazareth, but his first official assignment was at the Cathedral in Lansing. He later served at St. John Vianney in Flint. During this time Jim continued his studies, eventually earning three Ph.D. Degrees in theology, religious philosophy, and physiology. A short time later, Jim found a benefactor in Flint who sponsored him, and he then went to Germany where he learned to speak German perfectly in only one month. Throughout his career Jim was a bit of a “hippy” priest who never had any problems making waves. He even wrote an article for the Washington Post entitled, “I am a Priest and I Want to be Married.” Not surprisingly, this article created a huge uproar within Catholic circles. Jim was asked to expand his thoughts into a book, which he did. The final product was a book called, A Modern Priest Looks At His Outdated Church. Jim authored this book in 1968 after he packed up his Volkswagen and drove to Mexico, although he ended up living in California...