Passing through the barb-wired fences,
In the middle of the dark night,
With people chasing you.
Thinking to yourself,
Faster,
Faster,
Faster.
Will I ever see my family again?
Wondering what freedom is like.
Not ever knowing if you’ll find it.
Also thinking, why are people chasing me?
I just want to be,
Free. . .
This is a poem about a priest, Fr. Peter Esterka, who lived in what is now known as the Czech Republic. He wanted to leave home to go to Rome to become a priest. So he followed his calling, having to escape to do so, and ended up in St. Paul, Minnesota, at a church where my mom’s family went, and after awhile they became great friends.
This story, told to me by my mom, has helped me realize that you have to be really brave to jump over barb-wired fences to get to your freedom. Fr. Peter Esterka is really brave like many other men and women who wanted their freedom just as much as he wanted his. After I heard Fr. Esterka’s story from my mom, I looked outside to my own backyard – I don’t have any fences around my home. Thinking about that, I realize how fortunate I am and that I have never known what is like not to be free.
Today, Fr. Esterka is Bishop Esterka. My uncle still stays in touch with him, even though Bishop Esterka lives in California. To this day, he continues his calling to serve God, supporting the Czech people of the Western United States. Bishop Esterka has never forgotten his journey to freedom. Bishop Esterka has also written a book called Never Say Comrade. “The communists accused me of being an American and Vatican spy. My crime was worse I believed in God,” said Bishop Esterka. Wanting to be free, and choosing to believe in God, should never be a crime.
Meghan Grimes
St. Francis School
