The Stavelot Reliquary Triptych Poem by ENOCH JOHN

With an easy evocation of a mythopoesis of the dichotomy of empire and faith,
Rome and Jerusalem offer themselves as a Dickensian tale of two cities,
but with a twist, where everybody wants a piece of the Holy City Jerusalem or all of it.
To pilgrims in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales or
Pilgrims in their journeyings to Stavelot or elsewhere,
Ther's an open invitation to embark upon your own quest to experience the True Cross.

For all the connoisseurs of art there is a place in New York,
That displays for the world to see a container of relics aptly named a reliquary,
In the Pierpont Morgan Library standing like a seraph with wings unfolded,
For man has always enquired after the celestial.Constantine as man as emperor
Trying to make the connection between empire and faith; Rome and Jerusalem, a dichotomy.

The Emperor's mother Helena dominates one wing,
In her quest in Jerusalem for the True Cross.
Jesus in His day stood against empire and the stubbornness of the self-righteous Pharasees.

In the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York,
Standing like a seraph with wings stretched open, inviting humanity
To embark on its quest to experience the True Cross.