MY SON, SAINT FRANCIS
A Father's Story
ISBN: 978-0-9905262-9-2
A new angle on the world’s beloved Saint Francis of Assisi: a story told in the form of linked poems about the amazing life of “Francesco” who went from wealthy man-about-town to warrior to family rebel to great spiritual leader. This change had much to do with Francis’s dramatic break with his father, Pietro.
Marcy has used Pietro’s point-of-view for a different look at Francis’s life. Original and lyrical, by turns moving and amusing, Heidish’s story-poems sing of a unique Saint --- and of us, reaching for renewal and hope.
A Father's Story
ISBN: 978-0-9905262-9-2
A new angle on the world’s beloved Saint Francis of Assisi: a story told in the form of linked poems about the amazing life of “Francesco” who went from wealthy man-about-town to warrior to family rebel to great spiritual leader. This change had much to do with Francis’s dramatic break with his father, Pietro.
Marcy has used Pietro’s point-of-view for a different look at Francis’s life. Original and lyrical, by turns moving and amusing, Heidish’s story-poems sing of a unique Saint --- and of us, reaching for renewal and hope.
PRAISE FOR "MY SON, SAINT FRANCIS"
1. St. Francis is known as a saint who believed in living the Gospel, gave sermons to birds, and tamed a wolf.
Over the course of 84 poems, Heidish tells her own fictionalized version of the saint’s journey.
In his youth, Francesco is an apprentice of his father, Pietro Bernardone, a fabric importer. The boy is a sensitive dreamer and nature lover who sees “natural holiness in every living thing.” As an adult, Francesco decides to pursue knighthood, but God warns him to “Go back, child / Serve the master.” He joins the Church of San Damiano, steals his father’s storeroom stock, and sells it to rebuild the church. His furious father chains him in the cellar and the bishop orders Francesco to repay the debt. Afterward, father and son stop speaking to each other; Francesco becomes a healer of the sick and a proficient preacher. After failing to broker a peace agreement during wartime, Francesco falls into depression and resigns his church position. He retreats to the mountains and eventually dies; it’s only then that Pietro becomes a true follower of St. Francis: “You are the father now and I the son / learning still what it means to be a saint,” he says.
Heidish’s decision to tell this story from Pietro’s perspective is what makes this oft-told legend seem fresh again. She uses superb similes and metaphors; for example, at different points, she writes that St. Francis had eyes like “lit wicks” and a spirit that “shone like a clean copper pot.”
In another instance, she describes the Church of San Diamano as a place in which “walls crumbled / like stale dry bread.”
Following the poems, the author also offers a thorough and engaging historical summary of the real life of St. Francis, which only adds further context and depth to the tale.
An emotional, captivating Christian story in verse.
--- KIRKUS REVIEWS
***
2. Like a woman troubadour of the medieval Languedoc, Marcy Heidish tells the story of the great troubadour of Assisi, St. Francis, in poems written from the viewpoint of Francis’s father, Pietro Bernardone.
And like those of the troubadours, these poems are songs of love and loss, a father’s love for his son and a father’s loss of his son. The other characters are here, too, like St. Clare, the first Franciscan woman, and Lady Pica, St. Francis’s mother.
But this is Pietro Bernardone’s story, his grief, his journey to try to understand the madness and incomprehensibility of the son he’d hoped would make the house of Bernardone a great merchant family, wealthy and famous. Instead, the promising boy grew up to become a beggar and a disgrace.
How does a father deal with such a disappointment?
The story of how that story turns out is the burden of these poems. It is a story that in the hands of a poet like Marcy Heidish will not disappoint.
-- Murray Bodo, OFM
***
3. How good of Marcy to write such a book, in poetry too...! Everywhere I open the book seems wonderful. Murray (Bodo) always said he could never find any original source that showed Francis and his Father were ever reconciled. From what I am reading, Heidish might well be achieving that--in a most fair and believable way. Thank you. It is a real need for many.”
--- Richard Rohr, OFM
***
4. … a truly original approach to the life of St. Francis of Assisi.
Well aware that yesterday "Father's Day" was celebrated in this country, I was struck by the "words" of Pietro Bernardone about his son...and wondered how many fathers could, in retrospect, identify with them:
Yes, I flailed him; I know I failed him,
but maybe I had to be the dark spark
on the anvil of his youth to ignite him,
blazing up and out into open rebellion.
--- Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America
***
5. This book is a fresh perspective on a beloved and popular saint!
St. Francis, a favorite saint of many who love nature in all its forms. However, to explore this saint from the viewpoint of a father will give every reader wonderful insight! The poetic story is one to be treasured, savoring each page.
Heidish is a gifted author and poetic wordsmith that is a joy to read!
--- Margaret M. Miller
***
6. A deeper look at the significance of Saint Francis.
Another marvelous Heidish book! I love the poetry format.
No, St. Francis' dad did not leave a journal, but this beautiful book explores the experience of a man whose son's famous conversion challenged his own life. Simple and gentle observations about ordinary life hit like a ton of bricks and upset my own comfort and inattentiveness.
This powerful book is too short and I am left thirsting for more and more and more...
--- Nan by the Lake
7. Francis is not only an accounting of a great saint (maybe offering insight into the popular Pope who ...
The historical significance of St. Francis is enough. The drama of his life is enough. The relationship between father and son is more than enough. But to tell this remarkable story in deliciously-crafted poetry truly speaks to Marcy Heidish's mastery. Oh, she can weave a tale. And call upon lyric descriptions that comfort, provoke, unsettle, even startle. The result is a literary gem. My son, St. Francis is not only an accounting of a great saint (maybe offering insight into the popular Pope who took his name), it's good enough to top your summer reading list.
---kathyodenver
1. St. Francis is known as a saint who believed in living the Gospel, gave sermons to birds, and tamed a wolf.
Over the course of 84 poems, Heidish tells her own fictionalized version of the saint’s journey.
In his youth, Francesco is an apprentice of his father, Pietro Bernardone, a fabric importer. The boy is a sensitive dreamer and nature lover who sees “natural holiness in every living thing.” As an adult, Francesco decides to pursue knighthood, but God warns him to “Go back, child / Serve the master.” He joins the Church of San Damiano, steals his father’s storeroom stock, and sells it to rebuild the church. His furious father chains him in the cellar and the bishop orders Francesco to repay the debt. Afterward, father and son stop speaking to each other; Francesco becomes a healer of the sick and a proficient preacher. After failing to broker a peace agreement during wartime, Francesco falls into depression and resigns his church position. He retreats to the mountains and eventually dies; it’s only then that Pietro becomes a true follower of St. Francis: “You are the father now and I the son / learning still what it means to be a saint,” he says.
Heidish’s decision to tell this story from Pietro’s perspective is what makes this oft-told legend seem fresh again. She uses superb similes and metaphors; for example, at different points, she writes that St. Francis had eyes like “lit wicks” and a spirit that “shone like a clean copper pot.”
In another instance, she describes the Church of San Diamano as a place in which “walls crumbled / like stale dry bread.”
Following the poems, the author also offers a thorough and engaging historical summary of the real life of St. Francis, which only adds further context and depth to the tale.
An emotional, captivating Christian story in verse.
--- KIRKUS REVIEWS
***
2. Like a woman troubadour of the medieval Languedoc, Marcy Heidish tells the story of the great troubadour of Assisi, St. Francis, in poems written from the viewpoint of Francis’s father, Pietro Bernardone.
And like those of the troubadours, these poems are songs of love and loss, a father’s love for his son and a father’s loss of his son. The other characters are here, too, like St. Clare, the first Franciscan woman, and Lady Pica, St. Francis’s mother.
But this is Pietro Bernardone’s story, his grief, his journey to try to understand the madness and incomprehensibility of the son he’d hoped would make the house of Bernardone a great merchant family, wealthy and famous. Instead, the promising boy grew up to become a beggar and a disgrace.
How does a father deal with such a disappointment?
The story of how that story turns out is the burden of these poems. It is a story that in the hands of a poet like Marcy Heidish will not disappoint.
-- Murray Bodo, OFM
***
3. How good of Marcy to write such a book, in poetry too...! Everywhere I open the book seems wonderful. Murray (Bodo) always said he could never find any original source that showed Francis and his Father were ever reconciled. From what I am reading, Heidish might well be achieving that--in a most fair and believable way. Thank you. It is a real need for many.”
--- Richard Rohr, OFM
***
4. … a truly original approach to the life of St. Francis of Assisi.
Well aware that yesterday "Father's Day" was celebrated in this country, I was struck by the "words" of Pietro Bernardone about his son...and wondered how many fathers could, in retrospect, identify with them:
Yes, I flailed him; I know I failed him,
but maybe I had to be the dark spark
on the anvil of his youth to ignite him,
blazing up and out into open rebellion.
--- Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America
***
5. This book is a fresh perspective on a beloved and popular saint!
St. Francis, a favorite saint of many who love nature in all its forms. However, to explore this saint from the viewpoint of a father will give every reader wonderful insight! The poetic story is one to be treasured, savoring each page.
Heidish is a gifted author and poetic wordsmith that is a joy to read!
--- Margaret M. Miller
***
6. A deeper look at the significance of Saint Francis.
Another marvelous Heidish book! I love the poetry format.
No, St. Francis' dad did not leave a journal, but this beautiful book explores the experience of a man whose son's famous conversion challenged his own life. Simple and gentle observations about ordinary life hit like a ton of bricks and upset my own comfort and inattentiveness.
This powerful book is too short and I am left thirsting for more and more and more...
--- Nan by the Lake
7. Francis is not only an accounting of a great saint (maybe offering insight into the popular Pope who ...
The historical significance of St. Francis is enough. The drama of his life is enough. The relationship between father and son is more than enough. But to tell this remarkable story in deliciously-crafted poetry truly speaks to Marcy Heidish's mastery. Oh, she can weave a tale. And call upon lyric descriptions that comfort, provoke, unsettle, even startle. The result is a literary gem. My son, St. Francis is not only an accounting of a great saint (maybe offering insight into the popular Pope who took his name), it's good enough to top your summer reading list.
---kathyodenver