Once, as a member of the choir at my Church, I had the privilege of seeing the reaction of the congregation to the priest's homily. The way this poem illustrates iconic realism is that we have a real individual, sitting in the iconic Catholic Mass, listening to the rhetoric of a priest; however, the spirit comes not from the dogmatic words of the priest's mind, but from another spiritual source within that reality and thus illustrates that the mind, heart, soul connection rests within individuals, given to each person by God. Their inner response to relevant awareness can move consciousness in a positive direction, fulfilling their God-given purpose.
The photograph is one which I took at the Cathedral de Notre Dame in Reims, France. It illustrates iconic realism and my poem below, too. There, an iconic statue and one refurbished, standing side by side, reveal enlightenment through art. Through this restorative project, talent reveals beauty in a cathedral, where souls are restored daily.
Inspiration
Her eyes met those
of the congregation
bound
by sententious words
from a pallid pen
failing to touch
her heart or mind or soul.
So she breathed,
inhaled the Spirit
who whispered to her,
“You are whole and wonderful.
Follow Him: our Lord and Savior."
Exhaling a slow smile,
she sang a silent, restorative hymn,
a renaissance de cœur.
© Jeanne I. Lakatos
