Restore thine Image, so much, by thy
grace,
That thou may'st know mee...
~ John Donne, Good Friday, 1613. Riding Westward
My little dog Louie
climbs the steps
and waits for me to open the door
to the cathedral
where we regularly pause
If I fail to open the door
he tugs the leash
to remind me of my duties
his brown eyes sharp
within his fuzzy face
one nun pats her knees
Louie jumps; the other nun
warns him not to bark
or he will need to go to confession
Louie warbles; they pretend to look cross
a dove coos as I put my hand
in the white marble basin
dry without holy water today
absent the sacred statues and icons
shrouded in black purple cloth
to remember the day
that made no sense
even to God
certainly not
a good Friday
photos: interior and front doors of L'église Saint-François-de-Paule (1733), Nice, France
friendly nuns were at L'église du Gesù (1607), we church hopped as we strolled
