Today her slate asks, "What do you think?"
Contrainte Artistique
Puisque Norma a hérité
d'une statue de jardin
de Saint Francis,
je l'ai construite
une petite église
Catholique pour
le mettre dedans, et
ai collé des colombes
de plâtre à lui --
mais aucunes plumes
collant dehors sa bouche.
It's about how she was given the little saint but he fell over too much and I had to build him a small Catholic church and glue his doves back on. She gave him a fresh coat of paint, and pointed out that the upper dove had lost a wing tip. She asked what I thought. I told her it looked suspiciously bite-sized and she should paint a few feathers sticking out of St. Francis's mouth.
This was not well-received. She gave me a look. I gesture toward her slate.
"It is still what I think," I say. "Imagine having a bird in your face for several generations. There are limits even to the patience of a saint!"
Then her cell-phone rings. Our friend, Christina --who loves us like a sister-- calls: "How is your yard today?"
"Fine!" She says, pointing the phone at me, "but there is a crazy old man in it. Look!"
What do you think?
I think it's nice to have friends who help you fix your statues and make jokes about dove eating saints.
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightful post - - I'm certain that even Pope Francis would be smiling at this one. I'm definitely impressed that you can write poetry in French!
ReplyDeleteI like the solo-saint-sized church that you created for St. Francis and his doves.
And the saint looks much better without a mouthful of feathers......
But surely there are no limits to the patience of a saints statue? In any case, maybe the question is about the blue pot?
ReplyDeleteI have always been impressed with your obvious intellect that shines through in your writing - but writing French poetry? Damn. I can barely write poetry in my native tongue lol.
ReplyDeleteI laughed out loud at the end, and really enjoyed that French poem since I can read and understand French. The picture of you in the garden makes me wish I could have one myself. Someday. :-)
ReplyDeleteA nice garden and it looks like St. Francis' stock just went up with the white smoke.
ReplyDeleteDelores-- It is indeed nice. Like you, friends are part of a larger garden.
ReplyDeleteJon-- Thanks. Altho St. Francis was never ordained, I thought he could use a little church.
John-- Statues maybe. But even saints are only known as far as they are tested.
Keith-- Thanks. I recall I wrote the Francis poem in French to honor his mother. But best can be said of my French is it is American.
Sammy-- How I wish I too had studied French earlier! In "Testament", Francis wrote Nature is the mirror of God. Your whole world is a garden.
Sage-- Indeed, Pope has quite a name to live up to!
ReplyDeleteLet's be charitable and think that St. Francis saw this poor dove who had lost its wing tip. So invited it to sit on his shoulder and annoy him forever. That's the *nice* version. really, of course he bit the top of the wing off! :)
ReplyDeleteNo wonder the poor guy kept falling over, it appears that he is missing part of his foot. A foot, a wing, it all evens out.
ReplyDeleteNow about that crazy old man...
What do I think? That you're a wit in TWO languages.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, even with all those years of studying French, I can't recall a word that corresponds to "dude". So, tres bien, dude.
How appropriate to share a post about St. Francis this week :)
ReplyDeleteFeathers are such an annoyance, LOL.
Happy Weekend!
Hahahahah!!!!! And I got confused because it says "her mouth" so I thought you were talking about Norma!!!!
ReplyDeleteJenny-- Religion does seem to balance *nice* with biting, but Francis was probably on the nice side.
ReplyDeleteShannonAnn-- Ah, the crazy old man who roams Norma's garden and glues saints to the floor, at your service.
Susan-- "Tres bien dude". In all humility I accept this honor. To decline would be an ostentation of modesty.
Carol-- Actually it was coincidental, but I like "appropriate".
Austan-- Checked dictionary. Says "sa" is feminine as an adjective but masculine as a possessive pronoun. We're both right!
What do I think? That yours is quite a peculiar and slightly disturbing world view.
ReplyDeleteExcellent.
Love the feathers in the mouth idea! I, myself, have had lawn ornament inspirations such as gnome-munching reindeer at Christmas time.
ReplyDeleteI think you two are well matched.
ReplyDelete:-)
Personally, I love the idea of you gluing a couple feathers to his mouth!
Pearl