Our Lady is on fire
Not sensually, emotionally
But a surreal funereal pyre
As her cerebral flesh violently
Crashes to the Seine-banked earth
Her towering spine collapses
Hunchbacked, as at fetal birth
Exploding, the nave prolapses
Jewelry implodes, mantles drapes burning
Brings God’s masonic edifice to her knees
Parisian beauty bleeding, scarring
Distraught believers cannot seize
How He deserted her in Holy Week
All but prostrate, the powerful arms
Defy, with brave help, what the devil’s flames seek
Total consumption of leaves of palm
Her footprint and soul
Deny a graveyard end
Our Lady will arise, reborn and whole
The world watches what He will now mend
Winston Salem, North Carolina, USA, April 2019
