I wonder about the ceiling in the rectory in Opelika,
When he stared at it that first night.
I wonder about the bare bulb and what analogies he drew
Between the bulb and the Holy Ghost (then it was the pure Holy Ghost)--
About enlightenment  and what he should do.

I wonder about guiding him into all the intricacies
Of the struggle into which he was being immersed.

I wonder about the railroad cars in which he wrote all those letters,
How the cars swerved and swayed and bent to the will of the tracks.
I wonder about the handshake he gave.
Did he hug those MCA  persons who made the
Act of Consecration.

---James Bolner, Sr.
Bodoc, Louisiana
Fall, 2000