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Birdhouse For Chirpy Christians

© 1994 Ginger Henry Geyer
tinted porcelain with underglaze
7 ¼" x 6 ½" x 11"

Adaptation from a 13th c. English manuscript, The Psalter of Robert de Lindesey

     St. John and Mary appear at the foot of the cross in most medieval Crucifixion scenes.  Here they flank a gaping hole.  Their lament extends to the cross-free faith that turns Christianity into a religion of optimistic nostalgia, where anguish is ignored and pious assurances are mouthed.  Inside the roof of this birdhouse is a poem, a lamentation, for all the well-intended but awful spiritual platitudes we spew at one another, especially in times of grief.  The final stanza is painted cross-wise under the roof where there is a glimmer of hope.

     The poem draws upon Biblical bird imagery, especially Psalm 84: 3-4, Job 39: 26, and Matthew 8:20.