A poem for Bill Mahedy

Shepherd of a Varied Flock 

Shepherd  of a varied flock, 

Sing  praise, O Lord, to Thee. 

Black-robed, in silence, 

khakied  chaplain 

(chopper blades roar) 

shirt-sleeved now in 

concrete jungle ,OSA to SOB.

Sing praise,my soul, to Thee. 

Shepherd of  assassins 

and seekers, 

students and priests, 

those touched by evil 

and those steeped in it,

of  the spoiler and the spoiled,

Sing praise my soul, to Thee.

Companion of those perched on the verge 

of adulthood, wings outstretched,

and those old beyond their years;

the despairing  and the faith filled  

both, Monastery to marriage bed.

Sing praise, O Lord, to Thee. 

Keyboard pulpit (the Word 

springing to birth) 

Coffeeshop confessional 

bringing absolution and peace,

showing the Way

to the newborn baptized

in water and hope,

to the reborn, 

baptized in blood ,

thrust into the depths of the tomb 

and resurrected in Pascal mystery,

Sing praise, my soul, to Thee. 

Led through the desert, 

sustained by heavenly fare

a taste and a sip, yet enough -

the feeder, fed, 

the wounded healed.

Traces of grace shimmer 

and dapple the dark path,.

Shepherd of a varied flock, 

sing praise, my soul, of thee. 

A poem for Bill Mahedy written for his 28th ordination anniversary on 9 Feb 1991

by Louise Buck