T.A.E.D.S

T.A.E.D.S

(Terra Australis Espiritu Del Santo)


The only beautiful thing I saw
the only significant item
that caught me at
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
Catholic Church in The Alice
was this writ of invocation
and this pictured holy ideograph
in a tile floor mosiac
out front of the entrance doors
of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart

with a seven pointed red-ochre-hued star
representing the seven Australian States
encircled by the blue space of the heavens
in which the yellow-ochre four cardinal stars,
plus the outrider star,
of Crux - our Southern Cross,
with the head star spearing down like the true cross,
rise to their full prominence
to put all other stars
in the dark

and, inside a right-angle
pointed blue triangle whose
meaning (like much in truth) is a mystery,
and, trans-winged above
and overflown up front of all that
by a pale white-ochred symbolic form
in its streamlined travelling arcs
of a fast homing
heaven-commissioned
dove of peace and clandestine God the Holy Spirit
carrying a stylised white-ochred
olive branch like
sacred bread.

And this text
in Latin:
Terra Australis Espiritu Del Santo
for
The Southland of The Holy Spirit
signs off
on the import.

And those are
my son's and
my daughter's
then faithfully
beautiful feet.