Christ as King by Malcom Guite

[Gabrielle Dean]

Our King is calling from the hungry furrows

Whilst we are cruising through the aisles of plenty,

Our hoardings screen us from the man of sorrows,

Our soundtracks drown his murmur: ‘I am thirsty’.

He stands in line to sign in as a stranger

And seek a welcome from the world he made,

We see him only as a threat, a danger,

He asks for clothes, we strip-search him instead.

And if he should fall sick then we take care

That he does not infect our private health,

We lock him in the prisons of our fear

Lest he unlock the prison of our wealth.

But still on Sunday we shall stand and sing

The praises of our hidden Lord and King.

Malcolm Guite

I have posted this image before, but thought it suited Malcolm Guite’s sonnet. The information is from https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/rag-and-bone

Huddled at the foot of a Stockholm bridge is a sad little figure, barely visible under a pile of rumpled-up blankets, silently pleading for your sympathy. This statue, called Hemlös räv ("Rag and Bone") is somehow even sadder for having a fox face.

Since 2008, the helpless little fox has been waiting on the street, asking passersby to give spare a thought for the homeless, and maybe some change as well. The artwork was created by British sculptor Laura Ford, and later purchased by the city of Stockholm. At first glance, the squat beastly hobo looks like an almost realistic pile of old blankets, but further inspection reveals the sad little fox face. The figure has nothing in the world but a pair of boots and a pile of ratty blankets.

The statue was placed near the corner of Drottninggatan and Strömgatan, in the heart of the city where the tourists and the wealthy can see it.