Great Regulars: The traditional Christian image

of St. Francis, so benign and sanctified that the wild birds settle on him, emerges as if by association with the contrasting, ancient Roman image of birds as indicators of divinity. The poet [Carl Phillips] associates the pre-Christian image with the pursuit of an art, finding meaning in the "strays" of apparently random experience.

from Robert Pinsky: The Washington Post: Poet's Choice

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