A wandering preacher and monk’s practice,
With teachings and healings here and there,
Encouraging a reverential tone aware,
Living simply, reading to us, with no status.
Surviving death and the grave,
With a new body so miraculous,
Still teaching amid some fractiousness,
It’s not too late a soul to save.
There has always been an angry sky,
A reminder of debt from the Fall,
A mendicant style searching low and high.
So much transpired, some hearts are hardened,
And, a preacher’s message may be wry.
Try again in this new garden.
Francis Conlon is a retired and recovering teacher. For the past 20 years, he has worked as a seasonal river ranger and boat inspector at Yampa River State Park in northwest Colorado. He has published in the local Valley Voice and in Westward Quarterly. He currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.