Junipero Serra
Critics of Father Junipero Serra
Maintain that the priest was a murderous churl,
Killing American natives religiously.
("Serra," too, sounds like the name of a girl.)
Minor official in Spain's Inquisition, he
Saw many heretics tortured and burned.
Some people frowned on such zealous conversion modes.
Serra took copious notes. And he learned.
Later, his ministry in the Americas
Opened a chain of magnificent missions.
There, after doing the building, the natives were
Shepherded out of their base superstitions.
Serra's supporters admit that the shepherding
Sometimes went overboard. "Perfect he ain't."
Many who died, though, were first brought to Jesus and
That is enough to make Serra a saint.
Max Gutmann
If you have any thoughts about this
poem, Max Gutmann would
like to hear them
