The sole heir

The sole heir                                                                                         
 
Though illegitimate, the courts declared him the sole heir.
His inheritance – a decaying mansion with a vast collection of art.
 
Times being hard, he immediately tried to sell off
a random painting.  It proved a forgery.
 
Another proved the same.  And yet another. 
The last of his money went into having
 
the whole collection examined.  Worthless,
the assessor declared.  The son cursed his fate. 
 
He cursed his father – the old man’s
deception and profligacy, his cruelty and neglect.
 
An elderly servant brought forth a small painting
kept apart from the others.
 
The assessor began to weep.  There is no way,
he said, to assign value to this piece –
 
it is an icon from the days of the early church.
Name a price and your fortune is made.
 
The young man’s eyes fell upon the face of Jesus.
He blessed his father and remained poor,
 
returning the painting to its place in the mansion’s chapel.
Upon his death, the icon was bequeathed to the local church.
 
O child of God, reject the meticulously replicated forgeries.
Cling to the one authentic treasure which has been laid at your feet.
 
                              (from A Jewel in the Dust, 2011)