Siriol Troup
The Penance of St John Chrysostom
After Lucas Cranach
He wanted the simple life:
a roof of rock, birdsong to wake him up,
cupped hands for berries, water, prayer.
But there was always that graphic primal urge –
the roebuck’s horns, the needle-lust
of larch and spruce and pine,
church-steeples throbbing in his mind.
When he found her in the mouth of his cave
he waxed like a candle. Now he’s on his knees
and when their child looks round or calls his name,
he’s just part of the landscape:
a scar of schist where horsetails sprout like hair,
his fingers rooting in the ground,
his penance hardening into stone.
Page(s) 22
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