The Lady Cardinal

Donald P. Goodman III

Version 1.0 (14 May 1202)

The lady cardinal hides her lustrous, fiery plume

beneath her dull, unlustrous, feather'd cloak of gray,

a bride beveil'd, her locks conceal'd from her own groom,

to be reveal'd when all the guests have gone away;

but like the bride, no matter how she works and tries,

that heart-deep beauty shines through every shallow veil,

turns every passing glance into divine surprise,

when brilliance o'er a modest cov'ring shall prevail.

For truest beauty cannot e'er be set aside,

not e'en the one who has it can its light assail;

her cloak of gray her inner splendor has belied:

not even her own plumage can her plumage hide.

© Goretti Publications 1207 (2023).

All material in this Gemini capsule is offered under the CC-BY-SA license, unless otherwise noted.

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