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PN Review 275
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This poem is taken from PN Review 3, Volume 4 Number 3, April - June 1978.

St Sebastian Jenny Joseph

Faith struck Sebastian, got him
Hands twisted behind his back,
His heart thrust out
And other vulnerable parts he could not cover.

Now see Sebastian a prisoner there
The archer's patron by the archers hit
The soft white skin no day had looked upon
All parts exposed before the clothed crowd
Stretched for the tough little darts and the shafts of eyes
Armpits and groin tied open for their arrows.

The arrow of lust has hit him where it hurts
And he has no protection, for he looks
Upward into another element.
Died for the cause, for preaching love to men
Caught by the unconverted, no defence
And all his caring turned against him now.
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