Thursday, October 18, 2012

Ode to a poem, found

Sister Joseph Adele joins students on the lawn near the
Doheny Mansion for English class. Photo is about 1990.
SISTER JOSEPH ADELE EDWARDS, CSJ, '58, was a poet and longtime member of the Mount's English faculty who passed away last Christmas Day. She is still greatly missed by her many friends and former students.

The Public Relations department sent to the Archives a poem of of hers that turned up the other day in an old file. Inspired by John Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn," Sister wrote this paean to the Doheny Mansion in 1965:

If beauty changes for each person and age,
Then who are we to say wherein it lies?
For some it is a garden trimmed and formed,
A roof with gables pointing to the sky,
Two lions standing guard while cold and still,
Or marble panels matched by pillars tall.
An Angel's face, a crystal lamp, a trace
Of pastoral art -- all meant for one, at least,
The source wherein great beauty does reside. 
A marble lion guards the entrance to the Doheny Mansion.