Saint
Anthony of Padua
by
David
W. Landrum
Saint
looked to for
the fertility
of domestic animals.
Saint
Anthony, the saint
of Padua,
holy anointer
of the meadow-bull,
is called upon
by herdsman to
bestow
his blessing and
to make their
pastures full—
the
saint who reached
his hand, grasped
the baton
from old pagan
Priapus, seized
the rod
and
sprinted. Though
the ancient faith
was gone,
he
took the torch
straight from
a heathen god
and
carried on the
legacy of Pan,
Faunus
and Inuus. His
saintly grip
served
to advance the
fire; lest what
began
in
paganism’s
old purview should
slip:
the
relay of fertility,
I mean.
Our
age inseminates
with artifice.
Nevertheless,
our primal sense
of green
stays
hard, firm, source
of offspring,
seat of bliss.
©
2007 by David
W. Landrum
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