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Poetry Relics The third head of John the Baptist Stares down the narrow steps from atop Its unglazed crypt, its eyeless skull Browned like old lacquer, and its teeth Laced with golden filigrees, a perfect Smile for the imperfect silence of the vaunted Apse where only the candle tenders may walk With their heads upraised, while voiceless The pilgrims kneel upon the fresh-strewn stone, Their callused hands clasped into votive fists Around their precious prayers of wantless need, While high above, in the stained-glass stories Of the enfabled gallery’s sun-scattering grasp, The candle smoke gathers and the sparrows nest. ß Jack Vian Author biography Jack Vian is an incarcerated poet and writer who has been seeking parole and forgiveness for the past twenty-five years, and counting. Christianity & Literature 2017, Vol. 66(2) 325 ! The Author(s) 2017 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/ journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0148333116670507 journals.sagepub.com/home/cal ...

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