The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1904-04-09
THE POET PRIEST OF THE sorrrr

: LIE POEI PRIEST OF THE SOr-r1r
Simple rhymes laid as a garland of r.r,....,
ieet OF his mother by her SON. Such is the sr- NE
inscription with which Father RYAN ri, .HnP.e
world his beautiful poems: and what II.rI. W Jaa
sOul-inspiring sentiments and heart-oDr,lF. vi
thoughts do not find in that volume Who, ~ "
cation bespeaks the humility of the noot sJ
tender love of mother which ever characterize. ,L
true priest.
Though Father Ryans sunbur,ts Of +bo,,of- ,
not possess the exquisite polish Of Tcnnv55I A.
ethereal ightness of Keats or the prafo,,r4
philosophy of a Wordsworth, yet TO all trnc -
OF poetry, his lines are musical with thoughts
"Eyoking the solemnest hopes and fears
From our beings higher part;
Dlmming the eyes with radiant tears
That flow from spellbound heart"
Ever true to the instincts of his genial CoI1,
heart his greatest songs sung to those hc loves
In Father Ryan we have a rare example of firm.
loyalty and lasting friendship. Though fame had
surrounded HIM with new friends and admire. 5a
clings fondly to the old and when the fro~t- f
many winters have whitened that venerable head W.,
find him Withdrawing from all to spend his Christ
mas Eve with the memories of the past What
beautiful picture he paints of the departed ones.
"Ah. the fire within my CRATE
Hath more than Raphaels power
The pictures hanging round me here
No artists pencil could create
No painters art conceive"
While gazing into the glowing embers If Is 44o,.
departed friends who had been the inspiration of his
boyhood, now stealing his vision that inspire,
his beautiful Christmas chant
"And thus with visions onl-
And the fancies they unweavc;
Alone and yet not lonely,
He keeps his Christmas Eve"
Dwelling beneath the sun-burnished skies of the
South, Father Ryan's susceptible nature drank in
the spirit of that land of generous chvalry whose
glory he delights to sing.
1t was not to the flags before whose Haunting
colors nations trembled that the poetpriest paid his
allegiance, but rather to the emblem of oppressed
Erin and the banner of the vanquished South.
Nowhere do his patriotism and devotion find
more beautiful expression than in "The Conquered
Banner" With what tender pathos does he speak
of that emblem of lost cause:
''Furl that banner softly. slowly;
Treat it gently--it is holy,
For it droops above the dead.
Touch it not, unfurl it never,
Let 1t droop there furled forever,
For Its peoples hopes are dead
craftsmanship has long since been swallowed up
IN admiration, and even the bitterest foe of the
South echoes the poets tribute to 'The Sword of
Robert Lee:
1T sleeps the sleep of our noble slain,
Defeated, yet without a stain,
Proudly and peacefully"
Thougc Father Ryan, IKE all true poets. penc.
trated deep into the vale of sorrow yet no tnge of
despair mars the beauty of his thoughts Ali. no,
lie had tasted too freely the entertainments of life
and imbibed too deeply the inward sunshine of spr-
itual JOY.
Much as admire his thoughts, so suggestive
of his inner self, for "hearts that are great beat
never loud his monides so pathetic. and his out
pourings, so rich in patriotissn yet it is when we
penetrate the spiritual meaning of his poety that
We find Father Ryan strong and inspiring. In his
beautiful "Song of the Mystic" he gives us faint
glimpse of the close communion that all true priests
must hold with God:
But far on the deep there are pillows
That never shall break on the beach;
And [ have heard songs in the silence
That never shall float into speech"
If the mission of poetry is to elevate the heart.
who, after persing the lines of this great poet can
deny that his little volume fulfIls its message and
that it echoes the sentiments of all who knew the
Poet-Priest of the South:
'That his life was beautiful. sweet and fair.
Like holy hymn and the stest prayer
SADIE MAGUIRE, 'O4.
Sacred Heart Academy, Ogden