The Holy of Holies
If Ingrid Bergman can’t be made to shine
Divine as God, then Hollywood will flop.
When she does not flare bright as Christ, the shrine
(Not just its curtain) will be torn and drop
To Limbo (or to something even less). The fans
Will be new atheists. They will not buy
The tickets or the merchandise. The cans
Of film can just stay closed and pilgrims sigh
Away from popcorn Eucharists. The Coke®
They would have swallowed will remain unslurped.
The movie moghuls will have failed to stoke
A trance and CO2 will not be burped.
Effects and angles must replace the glow
Of God. She mustn’t look like some Jane Schmo.
~ Phillip Whidden