"I have looked for you and you have come to me, and I thank you." ~Pope John Paul II's statement to the youth during his illness

Don't go.

It's all I can say,
The only words that form
on my tongue.
My eyes are glued to the television,
revitted by the voices singing,
the rosary and the chanting,
and the children sitting horrified
as the news of death is told.

My heart burns.
Not even of the same faith,
and having known you for just days,
I still drop to my knees,
cover my face
and cry.
I wish I had watched you,
learned from you sooner,
and felt the way your words
seemed to come from God
before this day.

But it's too late.
I close the door to the TV room,
leaving me alone
with just the news,
and for the first time in a long time,
I drop to my knees,
clasp my hands,
and I pray.

---

My horrible little poem dedicated to Pope John Paul II. I wrote this the day that I learned he died, and despite being raised Jewish and now officially Buddhist, I looked up to him and had a very strong admiration of him.