On the day you were made
By span
- 2268 reads
On the day you were made
We find an icon shop on the edge of a pilgrimage village
which we are in quite by accident.
It shines cobalt gold out from the axis of a cobbled courtyard,
by a water pump.
We stumble over the step,
stoop low to bend over a glass cabinet
full of virgins and bleeding palm christs.
Your father leans to my earlobe
his lip touching, and whispers
‘Hello Madam, are you in the market for a rose quartz baby Jesus
or perhaps a Joan of Arc bracelet charm.’
We walk the lane to the shrine site
craning to spy through a locked oak gate
reach a sign that asks us for silence.
In the fountain, a scattering of loud hopes
each disc dropped, heavier than defeat.
13 shrine scenes inlaid in brick alters -
Jesus falls for a second time, rope whip at his neck.
Jesus speaks to the women of Nazareth, his robes collecting dust.
The sun is a good school child
the lavender bushes bloom sacrifice
the people walk neat slow surveilance steps.
A man in cinnamon robes held by a white rope
sprints through the cloisters
flick book filling the gaps between the hedge.
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Comments
Beautiful tiful and atmospheric, a
Beautiful and atmospheric, a sense of the past, the exterior heat interior cool and intimate and the religious artefacts hinting at penance. How the lives of parents before children become mythic.
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A strong connexion, made in
A strong connexion, made in interesting places. Like the way you described the situation, how you made the scene, to be more spiritual, even if it is in plain sight.
T.
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Yes very atmospheric. Lovely
Yes very atmospheric. Lovely Poem.
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'We find an icon shop on the
'We find an icon shop on the edge of a pilgrimage village
which we are in quite by accident.' - seems important because being there by chance means they are not there because of desperation - eg.
'In the fountain, a scattering of loud hopes
each disc dropped, heavier than defeat.'
the poem tells a lot about what is going on, at the same time as gently adding their own attitude to the pilgrimage, whilst including the story of the title.
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