The Clootie Tree

This clootie just appeared here.
It wasn't here yesterday
on a tree outside the cathedral wall
where I pass most every day.

It's easy to spot on a low limb
attached by a sturdy lock.
Is it an electronic key
to a car that can't chug 'round the block?

Maybe it's somebody's prayer
for a new or at least newer one.
Begorrah, that's not a bad idea,
a pretty good Irish one.

But where is the sacred well
that the clootie tree grows near?
Can clooties be effective
if a holy well isn't here?

Where is the sweet clear water
that brings worshippers from afar?
Where are the coins for offerings
and the wildflowers in a jar?

Where is the cup for visitors
and the eel with good luck for them?
Where is the saint,  where is the cross 
and the plastic BVM?

I'm inclined to leave a clootie
of my own next to the first
for my eyes could use some healing
and I'd hate to see them worse.

But I scratch my head and puzzle
as I hear the cathedral bell
just how well can a clootie deliver
if it doesn't have a well.

An answer appears before me
from a lass across the sea:
A holy well isn't needed
for the work of a clootie tree.

Just tie your wishes to it
and pray, and don't be faint,
and you'll surely get assisted
by the prayers of a passing saint.

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