The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia

Horror haunts my heart
And tears and fears crawl daily
Through the streets that are my life.
The fumes of fear seep slowly through my pores - -
I choke
and cry
and strangle
On images of fire and of hate
Exploding, flying, crumbling—
Burrowed deep beneath the rubble of despair,
Conceiving worlds where
Life is fear
And trust has no abode.

But our God of Ancient Newness
Dreams a hope
And loosens from its stranglehold of fear
My haunted heart,
Caresses with that godly gentle hand
This tortured world
And whispers
Loving into Being
Once again.

Ann Marie Slavin, OSF