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      March 5, 2019Out of FocusRhina P. Espaillat

      “Denouncing ‘Wolves’…,” New York Times, 2/25/19, p. A12

      Upright above their lush emerald bed,
      a squad of crimson tulips, row on row,
      without a field to muster on. Instead,
      figures—two rampant dancers—and below,
      a man before a counter.
        What I’ve seen
      in today’s Times comes clear, but only after
      I find my glasses: priests, in their green
      vestments and red caps, at Mass!
        Laughter,
      of course, greets now-familiar things:
      an altar—it’s in Rome; the Pope kneels there;
      angels are spreading their triumphant wings
      over all those entrusted to their care.
      Wings, prayer, denunciation: hardly powers
      to match the wolves that hide among the flowers.

      from Poets Respond

      Rhina P. Espaillat

      “This poem was inspired by the photograph that accompanied an article about the recent gathering in Rome to deal with the persistence of child abuse by priests. I was first struck by the fact that on noticing the photo without my glasses, I mistook it for a flower bed in a strange setting, and was later deeply disappointed to read that nothing substantial had been accomplished to solve this painful and criminal issue.”

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