Dispatches for the Colonial Office: Unknown Saint

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Lawrence Hall

Unknown Saint – 25 Cents

A little plastic statue of a saint

(In context, am I permitted to say “tchotchke?”)

A woman in white with a flowered crown

And a tiny crucifix in her tiny hand

She stood between a broken-bladed pocketknife

And an HO gauge caboose without wheels

There was a Barbie with her arms ripped off

And an I LIKE IKE button from 1952

The little saint now stands upon my shelf

Gently to remind me of my better self

Dispatches for the Colonial Office