For Leo of Rome

They say that as he stood before
Attila, angels by his side,
The force of truth and all the church
Sent the violent host away.
They say the angel’s sword gleamed bright;
They say Attila ran in fright;
They say, they say so many things,
And many things have gone astray.

Another story, firm in print,
Tells of the words he spoke before
The flailing church, the force of truth
Deep within his words.
Some spoke, some spoke against the truth,
Some fled far from the Gospel’s proof;
Many said so many things,
And many words had led astray

But Leo, firm at Ephesus,
Though there his words were all ignored,
Firm again at Chalcedon,
His words heard there, a clarion call,
Declared the truth they had forgot,
The truth of Christ, both man and God;
His words, though few, revived the truth
That has not gone away.