Triptych

For Mary C Nolan

Stooping in to light the fire

With thrilling agonies of shallow breathes,

The gas ignites and chases the

Maledictions from the grumbling house.

Mother Mary, I and

Fire dissolve in this chromatic pause –

Before: a holy land proclaimed

And Pharaoh’s whispers from the past.

The paint is seeping from the scene

The gilded canvas vaguely holds

A simple image from that life –

The smell and sound are narrative.