Fallen from the burning spire
Hidden
Inside the battered blackened twisted body
Of the rooster
Lies one of the 70 thorns of the Holy crown of Jesus Christ
Concealed and protected
From weather, fire and time
Inside a spiritual lightning rod
The crown a plaited instrument of passion
“We may behold the thorny crown, which was only set upon the head of Our Redeemer in order that all the thorns of the world might be gathered together and broken” (Migne, LXX, 621)
Botanically known as Ziziphus spina-christi,
More popularly, the jujube tree
Tasting of apple
With the appearance of a small date
The pit like that of an olive
In 1238 the Latin Emperor of Constantinople
Anxious to obtain support for his tottering empire
Offered the crown of thorns to Louis IX
As security for a heavy loan of 13,134 gold pieces
But redeemed and conveyed to Paris where Louis IX built the Sainte-Chapelle (completed 1248) to receive it.
There the relic stayed, until the French Revolution
When, after finding a home for a while in the Bibliothèque Nationale
The Concordat of 1801 restored it to the Church, and it was deposited in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame
During the Notre-Dame de Paris fire of April 15, 2019
Two days later, while ash and the tang
Of charred timber
Both hang in the air
The fund to rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral has reached a billion euros
To house the thorn
In five years time
The rooster will be re-homed
The cathedral be restored
Carolyn Black 