The Borgia Apartment

by Pamela Chew

I have entered contemporary religious expression
On a cloudy Tuesday in October.
We are all pressed together,
But my eyes have space enough
To see Gaugin in wood.
I remember him in Brittany,
Having fanatic visions of nuns
Swirling in circles, preparing for flight.
And Matisse, this chasuble
Quietly sewn in red and yellow silk
Screams faith.
My fingers press the glass case
And form a cross on my reflection.