2nd in my Covid_19 series
My friend, the Monsignor Richard Soseman, died on Wednesday.
He was a monsignor at the Vatican who returned to Iowa to minister a local parish. We became acquainted through a mutual love of bicycle racing. We became friends because he was funny and thoughtful and wise and educated and generous. Mons loved God, people, and a lot of good things in life. He was the sort of guy I’d want for my Catholic friends to have as their priest. He was the sort of guy I enjoyed having as a friend. You’d have liked him, too.
He will be missed.
Covid sonnet #2
Each time I see a friend upon the street,
I have the urge to greet them with a hug.
Instead, I stop and stand at my six feet
We stand at ease, make some chit-chat, and shrug.
There’s not, dear friend, a thing that we can do.
We must stand apart yet still stand as one.
This disease stands within no one’s purview
Let’s look out for each other ’til it’s done.
Pick up your phone and give someone a call.
Stand outside their window and wave your hands.
Remind them, they’re not kept behind cell walls
and we’re all players in the same great band.
We will get through this, see the other side.
We must fight, for the sake of all who died.
- April 2020.
