 |
| Photo by Marianna Bartholomew |
Bridging souls
Peace
Fragile
As
gauze
Tossed
It
hovers
Shimmers
Shades
 |
| India's Godavari River |
Sturdy
As
sailcloth
Woven
by those
Determined
To
keep it
Billowing
Propelling
Directing
Into
headwind
Driving
Through
currents
And
waves
Untorn
In
skilled hands
 |
| Andhra Pradesh, India |
Peace
Multi-hued
As
Joseph’s coat
Saffron
and indigo
Of
India
Ever-green
Red,
white, blue
Of
America
Scarlet
as patriots’
And
martyrs’ blood
Snowy
as bridal veils
And
baptismal gowns
Pure
With
threads of gold
Embroidered
Peace
 |
| Peace--made up of threads of every warp and weave |
Layered
As
tapestry
Interwoven
On
one side, complex
Threads
of every
Warp
and weave
Knots
Unravelings
On
the other, smooth
Fine
As
infant hair
Peace
Fragile
Sturdy
Colorful
Complex
Smooth
Close
As
a handshake
Friend’s
embrace
Lover’s
kiss
Essential
As air
By Marianna Robin Bartholomew
For V and ever-green peace
Being friends with a
missionary priest in India motivates me to daily prayer for world peace as
never before. When political or inter-religious tensions erupt in his state of
Andhra Pradesh, I especially plead with heaven.
My friend lives across the
Atlantic Ocean and two seas, off the Bay of Bengal. Before we met, I didn’t
know this was the largest bay in the world.
 |
| My family's friend, Fr. Varghese. Shown here visiting with Sr. Mary Prema Pierick, Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity of Calcutta. |
Perspective. My friend
offers this to my family and me daily. The world is so much larger than
suburban America. Our videochats and online texts keep my husband, children and
I on our toes, as we learn to communicate with someone so different and yet
similar to ourselves.
Personally, I am led to
astonishment at stories of the poor’s resilience and courage, awe at the
workings of Providence, dismay at people’s misjudgments and cruelty regarding
caste or religious discrimination, and deep laughter at ridiculous daily
happenings that cross every cultural divide.
When Fr. V. tells me he
killed a cobra in his bathroom or that his cow Gowry escaped, I shudder at the
first and am thrilled when the cow is found in deep forest 10 kilometers away,
before locals can carve her up for market. When 116.6-degree F. temps hit east
central India and more than 100 people died of heatstroke, I prayed for cooling
breezes across the continent. Last night, I learned landslides had killed 700
people in northern India. My sympathy is real, and that sense of mortality and
immediacy is good for the soul.
I am convinced. Everyone
could benefit by nurturing a friend across the globe.
Who is your friend? I’d love
to hear stories. Perhaps you've welcomed an exchange student or are supporting a poor widow or schoolchild in
Guatamala or Uganda. How much nicer the world would be if we could all bridge
cultures in this way. Write letters. Safely connect through a trustworthy
organization. But don’t deprive yourself of becoming important to someone
across the world.
Peace? I am friends with
someone in a “hot spot,” a region of grinding poverty and troubled peace. Oh…may
friendship and love overcome every need and divide in this world!
Father Varghese and I coauthor a blog that highlights his people and missions at Dalitjournal.blogspot.com. Drop on by!
