Another sweet surprise. This time, I’ve come across a poem written by Dad.

In 1943, when his family moved from Lowell, Massachusetts, to New Haven, Connecticut, Dad was placed in Mom‘s eighth-grade class at Saint Francis School.

As told in greater detail in this earlier “Angels and angles” story, Dad was kicked up to ninth grade in a different school after inadvertently correcting a nun during math class.

But before the transfer, Dad wrote a poem.

It was included in the 1943 Christmas edition of The Saint Francis Argosy, a glossy-paged literary publication produced by the students.

Sunset

A streak of rose across the sky,
Below – an emerald green,
And purple interlaid with gold
Too rich for any queen.

And yet there is a Queen, Iken,
For whom this robe was spun,
And every shade and tint was made
By Her Beloved Son.

God made the dawn just for Himself
And in the morning light
He bade the blazing sun come forth –
An emblem of His might.

Be when He made the twilight hour,
His thoughts were of another
He filled it full of angel smiles
And gave it to His Mother.

~ Harold Vayo, age 13, 1943

Here’s a look at our young writer:

When I thought about finding a sunset photo or two to illustrate this post, my friend Shannon came immediately to mind. She lives several hours away, on a homestead in her beloved Rush County.

With chickens, cats, and a photogenic bulldog named Winston:

I wouldn’t be half as good a friend as Shannon is if I didn’t include a link to her moving essay “When the Life They Take Is Their Own.” Please read it. And not just because September is Suicide Prevention Month and the anniversary of her husband’s passing. But because maybe the next beautiful sunset we see will show us a place of hope and peace, filled with angel smiles.

“Sunset”  © 1943 Harold Vayo. All rights reserved.

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