Annunciation, framed
[ by Charles Cameron — the war of content and context, Coptic / ISIS version ]
.
You are in a museum of the fine arts. You may recognize the painting is of the Annunciation.
You are in a church. The angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will bear a son, and call his name Jesus:
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
You are in a war zone: see, as much as you can see.
**
The photographer is in the war zone, catches a glimpse of the art, and takes the photo.
The returning devotee, I’d suggest, grieves the impact of war, pierces through and beyond it with his or her devotional gaze.
