Mary by Patrick T. Reardon

Mary

Mary carried her son’s death on her shoulders
a lamb to the slaughter,
a smoke-blind uncle on a fireman’s back,
a rolled ragged rug,
a clutch of tendons, muscles and bones, the weight of
a brother’s suicide,
a cross in the whirlwind of her Calvary,
a cross she hung upon.

Patrick T. Reardon is the author of eight books, including Requiem for David, a poetry collection published in 2017 by Silver Birch Press, and Faith Stripped to Its Essence, a literary-religious commentary on Shusaku Endo’s Silence, the basis of the recent Martin Scorsese movie, published in 2016 by ACTA. Reardon worked for 32 years as a reporter with the Chicago Tribune, specializing in urban affairs, and is now writing a book about the untold story of the impact of the elevated railroad Loop on the stability and development of Chicago. His essays, book reviews and poetry have appeared frequently in American and European publications.

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