The George and Dragon

By John I. Blair

A dark angle of our church once boasted
A rather large oak carving
Of St. George having at a dragon.

If we ever cherished doubts
Art evokes strong emotion,
This statue laid them low.

Though some deemed the piece
A well-crafted, shapely metaphor
Of Good defeating Evil,

For others spearing a mythic beast
Resembled species extermination
Too closely to condone.

Yet more found the Christian iconography
Offended their religious sensibility
As theological liberals of an anti-idolatry persuasion.

And so the arguments went round and round
Until the aggravated donor of the work,
Cutting through the crap, took it home.

©2003 John I. Blair