Dear Reader,
The other day I stumbled upon a yacht club named after Saint Francis. Instantly I imagined the poor friar moved to tears at the thought of his name associated with such unimaginable wealth. There was a twisted sense of irony to the whole thing, a perverse invocation of a Saint known for his rejection of earthly wealth and his proximity to the poor poor and marginalized. When I got home later that day I penned the whole experience down in this short poem, trying my best to capture the bitter irony—a yacht club dedicated to the patron of the poor.
Happy Feast of Saint Francis!
Enjoy!
SAINT FRANCIS' YACHT CLUB
Standing on the deck
of his fifty foot yacht
with the wind at his back
and the sun in his face,
the young broker docks
his sixty foot yacht
and thanks Saint Francis
for his life and his lot.