Starkenburg, Missouri (Pilgrimage Oct. 20, 2007)

STARKENBURG

The Holy Mass that cannot die,

Was said amidst the oaks

While pin-oak leaves came floating down

Around the simple folks

Who knelt upon the acorn floor

All dotted nutty brown

The acorns cracked and old knees snapped

Yet still there was no sound...

But the tinkling of the golden bells

As the White Host Son rose high,

On priestly limbs like mighty oaks

They branched up to the sky.

And in that wood I laughed with joy

Amongst the souls bowed down

For the mighty oak was once a nut

That merely held its ground.

So Christian souls like acorn nuts

Must burrow all around

And be the seed that sprouts new oaks

On consecrated ground...

Where the Holy Mass that cannot die

Is said around the oaks,

While pin-oak leaves come floating down

Amidst a mighty folk!