Sebastian James

Heart Fiat

Arts & Literature

“For many years I’ve avoided poetry, probably because I was compelled to recite it throughout high school by many white-haired professors. But now, as my own white hairs begin to show, my thirst for poetic verse has grown, mainly through reading or listening to the likes of Desmond Francis Xavier Kon Zhicheng-Mingdé and some of his contemporaries. For me, Kon’s Heart Fiat struck some of the right chords, lifting my soul a little higher, even though the journey was somewhat shrouded in mystery. I had a full-blown chiaroscuro experience as I made way through the scenes. There were moments of immense darkness, where I was grappling to understand, or to feel a particular emotion, while other times, the light pierced through, reflecting from my mind, into my heart, turning it, a little more, from stone to flesh. This led to momentary bursts of joy or some minutes of hot therapeutic tears, and for this I’m forever grateful to Desmond. This commendation was completed on the Feast of Our Lady of Mt Carmel.”