ManicDDaily

Complex Martyr

The slit was a tight fit,
still, seeking sainthood,
she served her heart on a silver salver.

Verisimilitude concluded with the platter–
for unlike Lucy (or Agatha, for that matter)
who had eyes (areolae) to spare–where
did the beat go, her chest moaned
now that it had, in the wound, a mouth to intone–
even so, her belief in the blessing, like the bleeding,
would not stop.

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Drafty poem for With Real Toads, micro poetry prompt by the wonderful Kerry O’Connor.  I have been very slow returning visits but will get there.  The painting of St. Agatha above (whose breasts were amputated in a christian martyrdom) is by Lorenzo Lippi.  Process Note – St. Lucy and St. Agatha are both Christian (medieval) saints who lost their eyes/breasts as punishment for being believers (though performed some miracle of not dying from their initial punishments.)  They are often depicted in renaissance paintings, Lucy with her eyes on a platter, Agatha, as above.