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Thelma Laycock

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Two Miracles

Jean-Michel Cocteau, Hotel Proprietor, Lourdes.

Some miracles come before the healing -
look at this place, our little Lourdes,
look at the state of us before the Virgin spoke
and pulled off the best PR stunt France had ever seen!
Before that we Lourdais were poor sheep farmers
tucked away in the foothills of the Pyrenees
and now we’re a centre of commerce;
hotels, cafes, shops, people are doing well;
even in winter pilgrims are still coming,
there are some here now as I stand in this grotto.
Work was our miracle – but the wind blows cold:
they say a little wind sprang up before la Vierge came.
I must go home. My wife will be worried.

I must go home – our pilgrimage is ended;
I’ve done all I can for Mike, pushed him and his chair
around, changed him, fed him, held him up
for a Bishop’s blessing – and Mike, he thrives
on it and when we arrive in Manchester
there’ll be a minibus waiting, his wife, family.
I know I shouldn’t say it but I’ll have an empty flat
and a quick whirl around the supermarket.
We wait in procession, the people holding up
their blue and white lanterns glowing in twilight;
I fold a blanket over Mike, the wind blows cold;
his life is rich in love and friendship,
some miracles come before the healing.

Richard Smith, Manchester, and pilgrim helper in Lourdes.

Page(s) 43

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