Unintended Lesson

He was quite a lugubrious friar

who held his hands before his breast,

fingertips to opposing fingertips,

flexed and flattened in piety.

This showed us he was up to no mischief,

or that he was practiced at prayer, perhaps,

or both, and that he was beseeching us

to accept his point of view.

Given to sudden spells of tears,

his grip on himself was too tenuous, 

almost, to be out in public talking at all,

even in little circles like ours.

His unintended lesson was:

For the love of Christ,

don’t act like this.