Like Rosary beads dipped in holy water,
Raindrops are falling from the sky,
Seventy thousand people in the roaring rain
Who would really rather be dry;
The valley of the Cova da Iria is a black
Blanket of umbrellas and hats,
And the drenched, dripping crowd is like
A muddy mob of very curious cats;
Three children kneel before an outdoor altar
As they await the promised sign,
And non-believers mockingly joke that
The children are just tipsy with wine;
The riotous rain finally stops at noon,
As the weather is forced to succumb,
But noon passes, and Heaven is late,
So perhaps no miracle will come.
But then a marvelous, mystical stillness and quiet
Come over this blessed place,
All laughter subsides and totally vanishes,
Without even the slightest trace;
Our Lady appears to all the three children,
Wearing garments dazzlingly white,
Her shape is graceful and delicate,
And her clothing is brighter than light;
Her eyes are like sparkling jewels,
And her sweet voice makes their hearts sing,
Her face is most exquisitely beautiful,
And she is a treasure of the great King;
But after hours and hours of waiting,
The crowd sees nothing at all,
If a Heavenly sign they don’t get,
Then perhaps the children they’ll maul.
After speaking to the three young children,
Our Lady casts a glance up above,
She gently points upwards to Heaven,
With a heart filled with mercy and love;
Then Lucia quickly points at the sky,
And tells everyone to look at the sun,
They only see a thick cloudy darkness,
So their expectations are little or none;
But through the clouds the sun is slicing,
And it’s spinning like a circular saw,
At this very strange and unnatural sight,
The crowd’s nerves really feel raw;
The sun is like a gyrating sparkler,
With sizzling sparks flitting about,
It is held by God’s invisible hand,
He is mighty -- of this there is no doubt.
Then the fickle sun changes colors,
And the many spectators reflect its glow,
The chamelionic sun lights up sky and land,
Putting on an impressive show;
First the sun turns a stunning silver,
And this is followed by a brilliant blue,
Then it turns a glorious, gleaming gold,
Followed by a most radiant red hue;
Every so often there are stellar explosions,
With blinding bursts of light,
The people are starting to tremble,
And are wondering if they should take flight;
They stare at the sun for a very long time,
Yet none of them hurt their eyes,
The whole crowd gapes in surreal wonder,
Observing this sign in the skies.
But suddenly unbolted from the wall of clouds,
The sun moves about in the sky,
It looks like it’s riding on a roller coaster,
On invisible tracks way up high;
The blazing orb dances in a fiery frenzy,
Although there’s not a lot of wind,
And glacial hearts are melting below,
Of those who have seriously sinned;
But now, like a menacing molten meteor,
The sun falls down towards the Earth,
Thousands of people cry out in terror,
Not experiencing any kind of mirth;
Alarmed atheists pray Our Fathers,
As their hearts’ flag of surrender is unfurled,
And agnostics stagger and stumble for cover,
Fearing it’s the end of the world.
Approaching at a frightful velocity,
The sun gradually drinks the dark sky,
As the speeding star draws ever nearer,
The people are preparing to die;
The red giant now fills the heavens,
And the situation is exceedingly dire,
The surface of the sun is a seething solar ocean
Of fantastical flaming fire;
But all this time the three good children
Have visions from the Heavenly realm,
They experience ecstatic joy and peace,
Since the good God is at the helm;
Then, in the twinkling of an eye,
The crowd looks up through happy tears,
They’re stunned because their nightmarish vision
Very suddenly disappears.
Just ten minutes earlier, the spectators in the
Cova were standing in the mire,
But now, in a flash, it is completely dry --
Faster than anyone could ever desire;
Ten miraculous minutes…
Have forever softened many thousands of souls,
Their lives are totally transformed,
And they no longer seek secular goals;
October 13, 1917…
Will be remembered throughout all of history,
Though for skeptics who read of Fatima,
This day may always be a mystery;
Many atheists and agnostics saw a miracle
That made them turn quite pale,
So know that this story happened,
And it is not some silly fairy tale.