Poems and Stories of the Xaverians in Burundi

Xaverians in Burundi

Poems and Stories

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Dancing in God's Love

Your deep wounds,
century old and new,
have drawn to you, God's heart.
God comes to find you,
in the green forest,
where you hide,
to ask you to be God's spouse.
And you... timid,
garbed in poverty and blood,
yet beautiful adorned
in the splendor
of native ebony...
you go to God smiling,
dancing in hope
with eyes dazzling
acknowledging love.

Fr. Ernesto Tome', s.x.

The Creator

When all things were formed
God created the sun
that rises and dies and comes back again.
And God created the moon
that rises, and dies, and comes back again.
And God created the stars:
they rise, and die, and come back again.
And God created human beings:
they are born, and die,
but never come back again.

Central Africa - Denka Tribe

You are not here

I will never go fishing
or hunting anymore.
I will no longer gather
the fruit of the palm tree
or search for sweet honey
in the forest:
for you left me.

Since you are not here,
I won’t eat meat, nor honey,
neither roots nor fish.
Why did you leave me
my beloved?

I wish I could die too,
since you are not here.

(Central Africa)

The Village

Hear me:
like a father ever old
wants to see his children,
so the village.
All are born from the same earth,
Defeated or victorious,
The village calls them
all to himself.

M. Kalombo

For those who are Orphans

O Lord, father of all children
watch over your little ones
who are poor and abandoned.
In their tender age, they’ve lost their parents:
they’ve never known the tenderness of love,
they don’t know the smile of a mother,
the kindness of a father.
Their heart is like the desert,
their youth is without joy
as they grow aimlessly.
Life seems like endless unhappiness
in their mind.
But You, Lord, you are a Father!
Guided by your Spirit, we can say
“Abba, Dawe, Father!”
Watch over your little ones:
they cry, for they hunger for food,
for the cold chills their bones
for their bodies suffer with disease
for they never knew the tenderness of love.
Lord, grant that all these little ones come to you!
Warm their tender hearts,
gather them under your wings,
that they may feel the care of your heart
and ever enjoy your kindness as their Father.
Amen.