Heaven's Gem in My Heart Beat

That old church of Sacred Heart

Draws my heart time and again,

My mind in dreams or trance --

is pulled with a rope or chain.

At Nagrakata station so flowery

The roaring Jaldhaka flows beside,

Trains wish to tarry a little more

To make a romance of the ride

To the hills of Bhutan in the north

Winding thru’ tea gardens green,

The single lane road climbs up

At the hump the church is seen.

              

 The sleepy shops of Champaguri

Wake to bustle on market days,

As workers from the tea estates

Throng through the hilly ways.

The deep valleys on two sides

My eyes they beacon and call,

There’s nothing I can do to resist

In the embrace of beauty I fall.

Saint  Mary’s Boarding School

Where my dad was but not I,

Over the Convent of St. Capitanio

My spirit like dove does fly.

Fr. Lazzaroni and Fr. Artico brave

And other missionaries of old,

Stand on the bungalow verandah

Bless Christ’s humble faithful fold.

Oh Nagrakata of dear memory,

Wherever  like you can I meet?

Unique you are, so you will remain

Heaven’s gem in my heart beat!

Xavier Bage

Mon, September  01,  2016

image:pixabay