HIS FRIENDS BID MARIO FAREWELL FROM LA IMACULADA

Our a clear bright day

Just like today

We said goodbye

To an old, good friend

And a weary and tired soul

With laurel petals strewn before us

By the wind, handmaiden of the sun

We trudged on our own paths

Grudgingly,

To see him off

On his walk home

He'd left behind 

A road strewn with good

And a stumble here and there -

It's only fair -

It takes a lifetime to get here...

And from the lives we  left behind

The wind blows hot

As we emerge

From the Holy site,
La Imaculada

In awful awe of death

Of resurrection

And God's mercy, 

Infinite

And we hope that it's all true

That there is a reward,

For a life well-lived

With true affection for His children,

All

And that your road home 

Mi buen amigo Mario

Be strewn with petals - 

Our prayers for your soul-

That like the oleander blooms,

Before your footsteps
Fall...