– Vuong Thanh, the Eastern–Avalonian Poet
Five centuries later, Joan was canonized,
By the very hands that once condemned her.
O why so late — so late, O Lord —
To honor one so faithful, indomitable?
O God-anointed messenger, O savior of France,
Betrayed at barely nineteen years,
Sent forth on thine holy mission,
Only to be forsaken by thine homeland.
How grievous the wound thou must have borne
When sold unto the other side,
Delivered to the courts of men,
Charged by voices biased by their time.
A trial in name, yet fate long sealed —
A prisoner’s chains or the cruel fire waiting thee.
O Joan de Arc, God-anointed messenger,
My heart so aches at thy dark story.
And though five centuries have passed,
Still the embers of thy courage glow.
And though we crowned thee far too late,
Thy flame outshines the ages.
Thou will ever remain
In this mortal world
The shining exemplar of courage and faith.
The God-anointed savior of France,
The messenger of the Almighty,
The herald of France’s Liberty.
Liberty… Liberty… O Liberty…
O Joan, thou stood against despair,
Against the doubt of kings and peoples.
Yet when they needed thee no more,
They let thee fall to judgment’s fire.
Five centuries on, we kneel in shame,
To name thee saint whom once we wronged.
O Maid of Orléans, forgive our silence,
Forgive the centuries we delayed.
After five centuries, O Joan…
We call thy name at last…
After five centuries, O Joan…
Thy light still burns the past…
O Joan… O Joan…
Thou will ever remain
In this human realm
The radiant witness of faith and of courage.
The God-anointed savior of France,
The messenger of the Almighty,
The herald of Liberty.
Liberty… Liberty… O Liberty…