Sonnet

That Christ is truly risen from the dead we know.
Victorious King, thy mercy show.
Now in the depths of our hearts we truly know.
All his works, bright resplendent do truly his victory show.

But once this King for a crown was given only a circlet of thorns .
A thousand years on, a reliquary holding a thorn, rests in glorious Sainte Chapelle.
Given to the new French Queen from Scotland who soon mourns.
Taken by her into cruel English exile, what despair she suffered we cannot tell.

Passed by her to a Duke’s family and then to fugitive Jesuit priest.
And finally allowed to rest in peace at Stonyhurst.
What tribulations, but finally cast in gold and set in pearls on it our eyes can feast.
But once its wearer, we think, only suffered from dire pain and thirst.

I cannot know if this truly rested on my saviour’s head.
But a thousand years of sincere veneration cannot be gainsaid.

Haiku

A reliquary
Cannot know if true or false
True veneration