SISTER  JEANETTE  NITZ  OP

Poem for Today - October 30, 2014

WHITE-HAIRED WOMAN

For Sr. Jeanette Nitz, OP

White haired woman

daughter of farmers/Wisconsin

years have made you

quiet, prayerful, wise.

Friend, sister, mother

to so many who were without hope

lonely, lost, friendless.

Without fear you shared

life, laughter, gentleness, love.

The first time you needed

directions to the jail;

it was the incarcerated,

and the conditions of the jail

that changed your life.

Confronted by the ugliness,

smells of oppression/pain

of your black brothers/sisters,

the poor

you begin visiting prisoners.

White haired woman

understanding their lives/stories

you move to become part of them

to advocate, to stand with them

for change, for justice.

Your anger at the conditions

 made you dream, one day

liberty would be proclaimed

to the captives,

prisoners would be set free

the poor would share the GOOD NEWS.

You've called others

to share your compromise/commitment

with the many in jail/prison.

You have also touched our lives

we will never be the same.

Fifteen years of jail ministry

not an easy struggle

like the white haired women

of revolutions

you remain a sign of hope

truly a companera!

Introducing you becomes difficult

 for words fail to express

to capture your life ...

I found I do it better with Spanish ...

… una mujer comprometida

de las mas comprometidas!

For the many who never returned

to thank you

for those who found gratitude

difficult to express

for all of us here tonight

we thank you for your life.

White haired woman

take your rest

reflect on those years.

Enjoy them. Pray for us,

that we carry on your task,

that we remain strong.

If I can glance into the future to time eternal, for a moment

I'm sure when you meet your Maker

Jesus will say:

White haired woman- !Companera!

Bienvenida -- Welcome.

© Trinidad Sanchez, Jr.

On page 62-63, 

From Poems by

Trinidad Snachez, Jr.

 Pecan Grove Press

St. Mary’s University

San Antonio, Texas