Brother Francis
He walks the streets of London Town,
A little Brother dressed in brown.
Up Ludgate Hill he goes and calls
The pigeons flying round St Paul’s.
He walks across Trafalgar Square,
Because he knows the pigeons there.
And sitting ’neath the Temple trees
The starlings flutter to his knees.
His sandall’d feet tread softly on
The garden-ways of Kensington,
And furry brethren understand
The pressure of his gentle hand.
Our little Brother—gentle—free—
Benedice... Domine!1
Notes
1 This means “Bless, O Lord.”