In the Shadow of Faith: A Poem

 In the Shadow of Faith: A Poem

In a home where the Latin Mass still reigned,
Where denim and doubt were both disdained,
A father preached of sin and doom,
Of Mary's reign and Satan's gloom.

He dreamt of Rome in ancient guise,
Saw modern Church through wary eyes.
With nine young mouths and barely bread,
He chased salvation, faith ahead.

From California's sun and dust,
To Portugal in hope and trust,
He dragged his flock through fear and fire,
Fueled by a holy, strange desire.

They wore long skirts, obeyed strict rules,
No movies, dances, worldly schools.
Each meal a prayer, each word a creed,
Each doubt a thorn, each thought a need.

But children grow and questions bloom,
In corners of a crowded room.
Veronica, with pen in hand,
Sought light where she could barely stand.

A memoir told with grace and sting,
Of love that clutched with clipped-back wing.
Of faith unbending, fierce, and raw,
Of breaking free from holy law.

Yet through the grief, she honors still
The man who bent to God his will.
For in the wreckage of belief,
There shines a quiet, aching grief.