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Saint Denis Carried his own Head
Saint Denis, Martyr, carried his own head
To his determined final resting spot,
A bishop, Martyr, who died by the blade,-
A man who preached with zeal the Word of God.
He preached the word of God in pagan Gaul,
But Druid priests felt raging jealosy
At his converting far too many a soul
That clung to Christ henceforth with fervency.
He was beheaded on a Paris mount,
Which is now called “Montmartre” with great pride
(the Martyr's mount in French) - a holy ground
And pilgrims come to pray upon this site.
Legenda Aurea says: “How marvelous!”
He carried his own head - thing unheard of!
For miles the headless walked and still would bless
And preach to foe and friends of God’s great love,
Predicament and challenge,- artists sparred
Where was the halo of the saint to beam ?
Above the the headless trunk that held his heart,
Or head which housed his sermons' glorious stream.
He walked across the fields, the farmers bowed
In awe, in reverece and wonderment,
He preached to them distinctly, clear and loud,
And urged the Christian faith to well defend.
Fromt thence the Christian faith took firmly root,
It kept on spreading, thriving as it grew,
Espoused and clung to by the multitude
Pour la plus grande gloire de Dieu.
The Patron is St. Denis of Paris
Protecting Paris with great vigilance,
And pilgrims come to touch their rosaries
On relics of the Patron saint of France.
He was decapitated and his body thrown
By vicious pagans in the river Seine,
But his disciples hidden in the town
Did fish him from the currents back again.
There - see the head he carries in his hands
As he marched forth across some flowery field,
And he preached fervently to foes and friends-
On soil well ploughed or ready to be tilled.
Go then dear learned church apologist
The annals of this saint to well review,
October 9th is Denis Martyr's feast,
Pour la us grande gloire de Dieu.
In Notre Dame's cathedral Denis is
Depicted with an angel richly clad
That stretches forth a slender hand wherewith
To fondle Paris' patron's treasured head.
Paris’ St. Denis carried his own head!
Folks saw him carry it around - it’s true!-
Head Carrier is therefore his epithet,-
Cephalophorus - “Pour la plus grande gloire de Dieu"!
© Elizabeth Dandy
St. Denis died in AD 250 under Emperor Decius
Is buried in the basilica of the Frankish kings
Pepin, Charlemagne, Clovis and all Merovingian and Carolingian kings.
