NOLI ME TANGERE

James Tissot, Noli Me Tangere, 1886-94, Opaque watercolor over graphite on grey wove paper, Brooklyn Museum of Art.

HAPPY EASTER

The silver trumpets rang across the Dome:
The people knelt upon the ground with awe:
And borne upon the necks of men I saw,
Like some great God, the Holy Lord of Rome.
Priest-like, he wore a robe more white than foam,
And, king-like, swathed himself in royal red,
Three crowns of gold rose high upon his head:
In splendour and in light the Pope passed home.
My heart stole back across wide wastes of years
To One who wandered by a lonely sea,
And sought in vain for any place of rest:
'Foxes have holes, and every bird its nest.
I, only I, must wander wearily,
And bruise my feet, and drink wine salt with tears.'

Painting:  Fra Bartolomeo, Noli Me Tangere, 1506, oil on panel, Louvre, Paris.

Poem:  Oscar Wilde, Easter Day, from Poems (1881).