- the Saracens! the Saracens!
the Saracens are coming! -
the plain pious paintings
in the Rabat catacombs
are letting these shrieks
penetrate their silent darkness
patiently awaiting the shouts
and swords of the invaders
- idolatry! idolatry!
let the flames of our torches
light up these heathen frescos -
while the swords and daggers,
which won´t win the siege of Malta,
erase the faces of the saints
leaving the dishes with St. Agatha´s
breasts and St. Lucia´s eyes untouched
turning these long dead ladies
into some kind of mega-martyrs
to be pitied and prayed to
all over again
making every Christian visitor
and artist alike
imagine the most beautiful faces
in the place of that bit of lost paint.
