A poem for Fr. Noel Ryan

Death Song –
After a poem by the Koryo monk Ch’ungji

Seventy years have passed;
now all is consummated.
The road home is smooth;
there will be no more pain.
Your faith and the love of your friends
is all you carry, but it is enough.
For our part memory assuages,
a medicament that cannot be bought
for a thousand pieces of gold.