VIRGIN FROWN... (My poem about the statue of Mary the Virgin in Barjac, Gard, France...)

 Virgin Frown…

She appears to frown, 

Unsettling and unwelcoming,

As the worshipper

Approaches with due trepidation.

Although glorious in her gown,

The folded arms seem like a rebuke,

Her eyes glaring down,

Threatening almost and unbecoming,

As the worshipper 

Hesitates with thoughts of damnation

And a confession.

And some embarrassment

And maybe forgiveness,

And thus atonement

And resulting distress,

Because she appears to frown,

Unsettling, yet unwelcoming…

Pete Ray

Barjac, Gard, southern France…

Mary the Virgin atop Barjac’s 17th century church of Saint-Laurent seems rather imposing…