fireworks shower
the darkened country
neither the fearful dogs
nor the departed need watch
nor the locked-down living
why? to celebrate the dead
or the invisible death
that hitchhikes along
the highway of breath?
how do we cheer
with closed mouths
or applaud with fingers
clutching our hearts?
in the sky
the flaming debris shrieks
ash falls on empty chairs
tonight I wish
I could fit under the bed
true lovers of God fully prostrate knees chest arms and face on grimy tile filthy carpet leaf litter even rough gravel to slather their affection onto Him with such feeling and practiced devotion t
your soul is like a horse that tires of the well-worn path to the trough the same dry oats and brittle straw the smell and gloom of a familiar stall the muscles of your chest pressing a little too har
pull and drip pull and drip pull and drip a golden smudge spreads across an arc of indigo sky the sun yellows the church tower chases candlelight back through windows and around the shadows of ruffled