La marguerite [English translation]

The little

daisy

fell,

oddly enough,

from the priest's

breviary.

Three scandalous

petals

on the altar,

an indiscreet

Easter daisy,

where does it come from?

In the sacrosanct

enclosure,

what a stir!

What goings on,

yes, my dear,

believe me !

The frivolous

flying flower

arrives as

contraband

from the flowerbeds

of the convent.

Our Father,

who, I hope,

art in heaven,

pay no attention

to malicious

mutterings,

the lightweight

flower, for pity’s sake !

doesn’t come

from young nuns,

from conical hats

in a witches’ sabbath.

Know – by the devil !

that one day, between

two Ave Marias,

on the stone base1

of a wayside cross

he found it,

and put it,

a thing permitted

by heaven,

clearly and unambiguously2,

between the pages

of the missal.

Let these

whisperings cease,

I pray you.

No, the priest

is not a traitor

to Mary.

Let no-one

suspect,

never more,

the little

daisy,

Oh for heaven's sake! ...

1. even if the cross were all stone instead of a woodent cross with a stone base/foundation it would be odd to find a daisy on the cross-arm, or on top of the upright2. as I understand it the French phrase means that the meaning is not obfuscated by the hordes of complicated clauses often employed in lawyer-produced documents to ensure that what the meaning actually is can always be disputed