Maid of Orleans

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The vesper bells speak
St. Katherine calls you,
beautiful Katherine,
her crown glitters
with the shining light.
So gentle her words
that guide you,
like ripples in a fountain,
like sighs upon the wind.

Hear Michael, war angel,
in the rustle of the leaves,
carry his sword to battle
to end the tyranny.
And in the heat of fire
your voices strengthen you
as you gasp for air.
Shout them your defiance:
“My voices have not deceived me!”

As the embers cool
and the smoke drifts away
your spirit joins the vision
in the silence of the ash.
Vesper bells are quiet
as Katherine takes your hand,
and ripples in the fountain
only shimmer in the breeze
in the quiet rains at Rouen.



The English burned Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans, in Rouen, France at the age of 19. She met death courageously, declaring her faith in the divine source of her visions as the flames rose around her.