The Carving At Zennor
A wide chair lay inside the church,
Carved in antiquity
And at one end, a carpenter had depicted
A mermaid, her scales cascading
From below her voluptuous hips,
In all her sanctity,
To reach fins at the edge of her tail…
She is holding a comb and a mirror,
Her face has been scored and damaged;
Another scar crosses her breasts it appears,
For Morveren through time has been ravaged…
A comb lies in one shell-like hand,
A mirror perhaps reflects her vanity
With a carved fish forming a handle;
The mermaid, her long hair cascading
Almost down to her thighs,
Is revered in antiquity
For her part in a legendary folk tale…
Pete Ray
December 2017
Zennor’s St Senara’s Church, Cornwall.
It is thought that the 15th-16th Century carving was based upon Aphrodite, the goddess of love in antiquity, who originally held a comb and a quince, or love apple…
So many visitors have touched, smoothed and paid homage to Morveren, whose story can be found elsewhere, that the wood gleams like when my mum polished her furniture so regularly when I was a lad...
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