The Poet That was Almost Pope

 He was a contender.  His name was mentioned as papabile.  I am talking about Cardinal Tolentino de Mendonca, from Portugal.  He is a poet and writes under the name of Jose Tolentino Mendonca.  He is a priest.  Here is one of his poems.

Eschatology

And, at last, God returns
full of intimacy and unexpectedness
contemplated already from centuries above
humble measure of a verbal silence
we thought destined to be lost

See God climbing the steep path
that we have paced a thousand times
and stop to wait without impatience
meek as a sick lamb

Which one of us is the other’s shadow?
Even if no pity preserves the maps
we’ll come down close behind
rampant and empty
like a tree trunk

© Translated by Ana Hudson, 2012